- The distance runner became completely blind during the race
- Eloise Wellings still finished in 26th place
- Says she can’t wait to compete in another race
Australian Olympic distance runner Eloise Wellings has revealed she lost her sight while running the Valencia Marathon in Spain last weekend.
Wellings, 41, finished 26th overall in the grueling event with an Olympic qualifying time of 2:25.47 – her second best ever.
The elite veteran believes she might have finished in the top 10 if not for a scary incident that occurred about two hours and 23 minutes into the race.
In a social media post after the event, the mother of two explained the unusual situation.
“Yesterday was something different,” she wrote on Instagram.
Distance runner Eloise Wellings suffered a terrifying mid-race incident during the Valencia Marathon this weekend
Wellings said she went blind for a while during the race, which cost her valuable time
“Ninety-five percent of them were some of the best micro-moments of my running days so far. I’ve never laughed so much during a marathon and the things I loved about this race have me excited to show up again.
“Yesterday I once again revealed the things I love about this sport… and also one of the things that kinda sucks: marathons are a game of margins.
‘The less-than-ideal five percent included a hypo-episode of blurred vision that started 23 miles away.
‘I lost valuable time over the next three kilometers trying to control the blur until the lights went out completely at 41km, stopping, hanging over the barricade with only 900 meters to run. I had a seemingly incoherent conversation with a Spanish man (which I have no memory of lol) and then set off again in what I hoped was the general direction of the finish line.
‘In the last five kilometers I lost a few minutes because I missed the 28 km water station. Margins.’
The Aussie star is one of seven women vying for a spot on the Paris 2024 national women’s marathon team, and is keen to get back to running as soon as possible.
“So here I am, lying in bed at 3am, starting to Google marathons in 2024… because that dream day is still a slim ball away,” she wrote.
‘Mad love and respect for our three other Australian women in the race. What does that say… ‘A rising tide floats all boats’.
Wellings also said she had an incoherent conversation with a man she doesn’t remember
There has never been more accuracy in running the women’s marathon in our country and it is a privilege to stand alongside all of you.”
Wellings finished about two minutes behind compatriot Genevieve Gregson, who finished eighth in 2:23.08.
