ROAD RUNNING
side , so my hip would go out a bit , but now I feel a lot more smooth and comfortable . That SC Elite is an incredible shoe !”
Accident and Amputation
In a previous lifetime , Travis was a competitive motorcross racer and swimmer , and a keen fisherman , too , but a serious motorcycle accident in February 2020 left him with a shattered right foot . Eleven months later , after surgery and rehabilitation had proven unsuccessful , he gave the doctors the goahead to amputate his lower right leg . “ I had to make a decision … Did I want to carry on living the life that I was living at that time , or did I want to live a better one ? I chose a better life , and I have never looked back . Every day , I try to make the most of what I have , instead of looking back ,” he says .
Travis had started running the year before the accident , having been introduced to the sport by friends he met at gym . “ I just decided I need a bit of a change , and I completely fell in love with running ,” he recounts . He quickly built up his fitness and mileage and then took on the Lesotho Ultra , which he describes as an unforgettable experience . “ I ’ ll always remember it because it made me cry , both during the race and after I finished . It was my first real rollercoaster of emotions when it came to running ,” he adds .
He also entered the 2020 Comrades , but those plans had to be cancelled following the accident , and then the race was cancelled anyway by the COVID lockdown . However , that enjoyment of running proved a catalyst in his super-human recovery from his accident and amputation . “ When I was lying in bed , all I could think about was how I wanted to get back on my feet and get back to running , so I made that my goal , to recover as fast as I could and to run again as soon as I could .”
Not even the subsequent amputation could derail his determination , and just two weeks after the removal of his foot , he strapped on a prosthetic leg for the first time and began learning to walk on it . His healing went unexpectedly well , and miraculously , exactly six months to the day after his operation , he ran and finished the Karkloof 50-mile trail run ! Travis even
Just six months after the amputation , Travis tackled the Karkloof 50-miler !
Travis in good spirits after the hard decision to amputate his right foot
Travis and then girlfriend Tyler , shortly after getting mobile again
Taking a breather during the Karkloof event
Images : Courtesy Travis Warwick-Oliver
16 ISSUE 175 | www . modernathlete . co . za