Aug 8, 2000

Jan Hetherington sent a chilling follow-up to my recent Runner's World column on running safely in traffic. Jan was following good safety practices while passing through San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on a sidewalk.

"An SUV joined me there, on the sidewalk, and blasted me into a whole new perspective," Jan writes. "My injuries were significant, and I am told by the medics that I was extremely lucky [to survive]."

The accident happened more than two months ago. Jan reports that "my punctured lung has now fully inflated, my neck brace (for the two fractures) came off this week, my mid-spine compression fracture has healed, my cracked ribs are on their way to working fully again, and the dramatic incision in my thigh to relieve dangerous internal bleeding is healing. I can now walk a mile and have no idea what to expect when I start running, but it'll be great."

Jan's advice to runners means more than mine did, since it's real instead of theoretical: "Definitely be vigilant around traffic, but you can also never know what might just appear out of nowhere. Take each run with full awareness, and delight in the fact that you CAN run."

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