SPORT GENERAL - New hip, new car, new grandson... a happy treble

Caroline Weatherspoon is a believer in the old proverb that good things happen in threes.
"I've got a new hip, a new grandson and now I've got a new car," she said after winning the spot prize of a Mazda 3 car this week.
The car, donated by the Pacific Motor Group, was the main prize offered during the Sport Northland Run/Walk Series of five events in 2007 and came close to eclipsing her excitement at the birth of her first grandson, Diego, earlier this month.
The Whakapara woman took part in all five events successfully but didn't think she was lucky enough to win a $30,000 car.
"We still can't believe it really, someone was trying to work out the odds of me winning it but because I did the whole series I had a lot of entries," she said.
Weatherspoon injured her hip in a riding accident more than 10 years ago and the injury never fully healed, leading to hip replacement surgery last year.
"It was a bit of a comeback for me. My cousin (Jual Franks) and I both had major medical dramas last year - she almost died with a ruptured appendix, so it was the comeback trail for both of us."
She started the first event of the series, the Chilltech Beach to Basin in March, leaning heavily on a walking stick but through regular exercise and plenty of determination she finished the Kerikeri Half-Marathon two weeks ago, completing a remarkable transition.
"If you can imagine the fitness or lack of it you have before a hip replacement and going from that to completing the rest of the series it has been a challenge," she said.
The unsung hero was her husband Paul, who helped her through the painstaking rehabilitation.
"If it wasn't for him walking at snail's pace to get me through all these events - especially the first ones - I wouldn't have got anywhere," she said.
There was emotion involved along with satisfaction.
"When Jual completed her first duathlon, she burst into tears and said `that's for Philip' my brother, who died of heart disease ... my whole family is a bit chubby so I thought we'd lead by example and try and get everyone else off their backsides as well," Weatherspoon said.
The series has inspired the born-again fitness fans to try duathlon events, cycling and walking, and they have already signed up for five events next year, as well as planning to attend the Run-Walk series again.