Mal Winnie was working on a DIY renovation when a concrete wall collapsed, crushing him. Photo / Supplied
Mal Winnie was working on a DIY renovation when a concrete wall collapsed, crushing him. Photo / Supplied
Among the competitors at this summer's Tarawera Ultramarathon near Rotorua will be a former Hawke's Bay man telling his astonishing recovery story to fellow runners.
Mal Winnie went from being unable to walk to running an ultramarathon in twelve months.
There's a reason the doctors and nurses that helped healhim called him the "miracle man".
In 2005, Winnie was working on a DIY renovation project when a concrete wall collapsed, crushing him.
"I thought I was going to die that day. I was there by myself and it's still a bit of an unknown as to how I survived."
Winnie had forged a career surrounded by nature and adventure as a professional guide for overseas tours - traveling the world guiding through canyons, down rivers on kayaks, and rock climbs.
Mal Winnie's back after surgery. Photo / Supplied
He'd just returned to New Zealand at the time, and still finds it hard to talk about, even 16 years on: "I pretty much went through the process of dying."
After the freak accident, which broke his back in five places, Winnie was left unable to walk and required emergency surgery to fuse his spine through bone grafts and the use of titanium rods and screws.
Initially, he became pretty depressed in hospital. "I knew I'd lost my career and knew I wasn't going to be able to do the things I loved," Winnie said.
Completing a marathon within 12 months of his accident was the goal that pushed Winnie through the depression and rehabilitation.
Three months after his surgery, Winnie progressed from using a Zimmer frame on to crutches and eventually walking unaided.
In the hospital, Winnie was nicknamed the 'miracle man' by the doctors and nurses who could not believe he was able to walk again.
He decided to set a track up around where he lived, and trained on it until he was bold enough to attempt the 55km ultramarathon. On the way he fell in love with trail running.
"I wasn't doing the marathon for anybody else, I was doing it purely for myself."
But in recent years, Winnie's attention has turned to helping others too.
Before the 2021 Tarawera Ultramarathon, his best friend called him to let him know his daughter was struggling with mental health issues.
Winnie suggested to his friend they run the Tarawera Ultramarathon 102km (TUM102) together while fundraising for mental health and breast cancer.
Trail running and events have been Winnie's salvation and as he pushed himself to the finish line, he inspired his brother to have a go too.
They're now returning for the February 12, 2022 event, the 14th running of the race - an iconic Rotorua event with stunning local trails, seven lakes, waterfalls, lush forest and volcanic trails.
Winnie said he is never really out of pain, existing on a continuum from mild to extreme and is "used to living with pain".
"I'm coming back for many reasons. I love challenging myself, and I love the mental and physical aspects of it.
"When I'm out running those trails, in those moments it's my clarity and time just stands still."
"I think the world just seems to drop away and you just get on that emotional high. There's that real connection to things outside of yourself, and I love that."
Winnie, now 50, wants to show his nephews and nieces that they can do these things, and "with the right attitude and the right mindset, you can do things you never thought you could."
