London Marathon walker from Crowthorne completes 26.2 miles in 10 hours in prosthetic leg

A DEDICATED woman has defied odds by walking the London Marathon with a prosthetic leg in under 10 hours.

Mwangala Lethbridge who lives in Crowthorne, took part in the 26.2 mile race as a way to get ‘closure’ following her accident and as a thanks to the charity who helped her.

She said: “I can not see, can not speak and every part of me aches. I am definitely not a marathon person but I wanted to do it for a purpose and for closure.

“I accept that I have lost my leg, so I try to not let the physical pain stop me but the marathon was a reminder of what I have lost.”

Mwangala with her sister Notulu by her side

Mwangala walked the London Marathon in nine hours and 47 minutes with her sister by her side.

At the halfway point, her leg started bleeding so St John’s ambulance patched her up and offered to drive her to the finish line, however she refused and was determined to carry on.

She added: “It was hard, after 5pm nobody was running, the bands stopped playing and the sweepers started sweeping so I was trying so hard to get to the end.

“But the feeling was so overwhelming when I finished, I cried all the way back to the hotel, my sister ran me a bath and we shared some bagels and went to bed.

“It was mentally exhausting more than anything and I definitely wont be doing a marathon again.”

The pair each received a medal from the London Marathon

The 48-year-old suffered life-changing injuries after she lost her leg in a motorbike accident in Zambia in 2016.

The charity Amref Health Africa helped Mwangala get treatment and helped fly her back to the UK to be treated at John Radcliffe Hospital.

She said: “‘Running’ the London Marathon is my small way to raise funds for Amref, to say thank you to the charity.

“Having spent two years hiding my leg, I will walk 42 km, because my new reality is no longer something I should be ashamed of.

“It is a reality I have begun to embrace.”

Visit www.amrefuk.org/ to find out more.