Injury to Ultra. . .
A Mark Wheeler Story
I joined the Midhurst Milers in 2019 after bumping into Simon Verrell, who was on a training run with the club. He suggested I join the club and that it would be a great way of finding support and encouragement , and he was right. Joining the milers proved to be a real turning point for me. I met some great people, and my running improved more than I expected. I got fitter, leaner, and managed to bring my park run time down from 33 to 27 minutes. After a long period of inactivity after a string of rugby injuries this felt like a really positive step in the right direction.
Some of you may already know what came next, but for those who don’t:
On 1 October 2021, I was walking down the steps in our garden when I slipped. My leg jolted upwards, and I felt a sharp pain in my knee. When I looked down, my kneecap had moved up my thigh. Thinking it was dislocated, I tried to relocate it, but the pain was overwhelming and it wouldn’t stay in place.
Thankfully, a neighbour was nearby and drove me straight to Chichester Hospital. An X-ray showed the damage — I had ruptured my patella tendon. Within a few days I was in surgery, and the tendon was re-attached through two small holes in the kneecap. That marked the beginning of six months of rehab, physio, and strength work.
In April 2022, things were looking up. My knee felt stronger, I’d been signed off by the orthopaedic surgeon, and we headed off for a much-needed 16-night break to South Africa. A couple of days before flying home, a group of us went hiking in the Magaliesberg Mountains. While trying to navigate our way back, my mother-in-law slipped down a hillside. I went after her and ended up slipping myself!
I new immediatly what had happened, the pain was distinct and familiar. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of foreboding —this was going to be another 6 months of rehab!
Unfortunately I was right to be worried, I had ruptured the same tendon — and this time my kneecap had fractured into three pieces. To make things more complicated, we were a kilometre up a mountain.
With no air ambulance available, the farm manager sent water and an umbrella for shade. While the rest of the group were guided back down Amy stayed with me and managed to reach mountain rescue. Using What3Words, they found our location and told us they’d arrive in about two hours. Right on 1 pm, they reached the farm and began the hike up to us. They carried me down the mountain, and by 6pm I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital.
Two days later I was back in surgery. Dr Mike Barrow did what he could, this time using a prosthetic tendon to replace what had been lost. Mentally, this was tough time. I knew exactly what lay ahead regarding the recovery, I knew the hard work that would be involved all over again. I stayed in South Africa for another three weeks, while Amy and Noah flew home without me.
Seven weeks on and I was taking my first tentative steps to start running again. But this time it felt different. It wasn’t about pace or distance anymore — it was simply about proving to myself that I could still do it.
By August 2024, I was running regularly again and feeling the strongest I had in years. But unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that easy!
Another setback: a torn hamstring in two places after a casual afternoon at the cricket. That meant another four months of physio and rest.
During this recovery it would have been easy to admit defeat but instead I decided to make this count for something and give me something positive to work towards. I needed a goal and it needed to be something I couldn’t back out of, so at the end of 2024 I entered my first 50km ultramarathon, The Serpent Trail. The was a big deal for me, I had never covered this sort of distance before and the idea of a DNF wasn't an option.
With the help of the Runna App and fellow Miler, Colin, I trained consistently and sensibly. Colin helped me keep things steady and focused, and I did my best to stick to every session.
In July 2025, after two knee operations, a long recovery, and plenty of patience, I crossed the finish line of the Serpent Trail 50km in 8 hours and 17 minutes an incredible feeling. This whole journey has taught me not to give up. With patience and consistency, you can achieve far more than you think.