When Chris Arthey lost his leg following a devastating motorcycle accident in 2008, he knew life would never quite be the same.
Having spent two weeks in a coma fighting for his life, after a drunk driver had swerved into his path at over 80mph, he awoke to discover that his badly damaged left limb had been amputated and that his wife, Denise, who was riding pillion that fateful day, was also in a serious condition and had lost her left leg.
The couple, who were living in Texas, USA, at the time, knew there would be a long road ahead if they were ever to get back the lives they once knew and loved.
Feared he would never run again
An engineer and project manager in the oil and gas industry, Chris had been a keen athlete before the accident – completing the five marathon majors as they were then (London, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and New York), all in times under 3h 15m, with London his fastest in 2h 58m – but now, at the age of just 53, he was facing up to the prospect of never being able to run again.
For many people, such a cruel turn of events could prove to be life-defining in a wholly negative way, born of anger and bitterness towards the driver and fuelled by a ‘why us?’ attitude.
But from a very early point in their long recovery process, Chris and Denise decided that was not going to be their path. Life-defining, yes… but they had a choice to either look at the positives or be held back by negativity, and they chose the former.
They have even forgiven the driver in question, who served a four-month prison sentence, and bear him no ill will.
From marathons to climbing Kilimanjaro
While Denise continued her vocation in teaching, Chris resumed his engineering work and found new ways to test himself, starting with learning to run again.
This weekend, he will be lining up for what will be his seventh triathlon at Blenheim Palace, the latest in a long line of remarkable challenges, which have included multiple marathons, half-marathons, winning gold at the British Paratriathlon Championships, and even climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro to celebrate his 60th birthday.
More than 5,000 participants will converge on the latest event in the Supertri calendar this weekend, with a welcoming course that explores the stunning surroundings of the historic palace.
“It’s about daily choices,” says Chris, as he speaks to TRI247 from his home in Godalming, UK. “We had faith that our assignment wasn’t over, and now every day is a gift. Every race run and every race completed is a miracle.
‘The crowd, the atmosphere – it was truly wonderful’
“It was about a year after I was able to walk again that I thought about taking part in my first triathlon. I watched the CB&I in the Woodlands, Texas, and I was immediately hooked. The crowd, the atmosphere – it was truly wonderful.
“I’d had a carbon-fibre blade fitted by the same prosthetist who worked with the athlete Oscar Pistorius, and being able to run for the first time was such a huge milestone. To be able to bounce off the blade, there was nothing like it.”
The real game-changer, however, was when he decided to switch from an articulating running knee to a rigid pylon leg, which, while quite awkward at first, has enabled him to continue his passion for endurance sports.
“The sports prosthetist came to visit me and suggested we try the pylon,” he said. “We went down to the running track, and it felt really awkward. I didn’t like it at first. But it was quicker, and soon I was running 5ks, 10ks and half-marathons with it.”
First above-the-knee amputee to complete London
His first full marathon came at the age of 57 – just four years after the accident – when he crossed the finish line in an incredible time of 4:29, while two days before his 62nd birthday, he became the first above-the-knee amputee to complete the London Marathon.
This week’s Supertri Blenheim Palace will once again see him compete around the grounds and waters of the stunning Oxfordshire estate. Ably supported by his brother, Roger, he is looking forward to hanging yet another medal up alongside the ‘hundreds’ that he already has and logging his split times in his neatly collated filing system.
“My first race at Blenheim was in 2016, when I completed the swim in 21:01, the bike in 51:50 and then the run in 33:55. My overall time was 1:57:51, but that included seven minutes in T1 trying to get up the hill to the bike,” he recalls. “We have more of an idea of what we are doing now.
“Last year was my slowest time yet, a 2:15:58, but my quickest was in 2020, when I did the swim in 25:42, the bike in 45:49 and the run in 29:33, leading to an overall finish of 1:45:36.”
‘It’s about making daily choices’
Now aged 71, he knows there will have to come a time when he hangs up his running shoe and instead focuses all of his time on the inspirational talks and visits that he and Denise take part in as they continue to inspire and teach the world about how to carry on with life when devastation comes calling.
Their book, Highway 35 (available on Amazon), explains how they managed to turn their lives around after such a harrowing experience. Ensuring they make the daily choice to live their lives the best way that they can on the most positive pathway possible.
“So long as I enjoy it and so long as my body holds up, I will keep on going and keep on trying to get the best possible time that I can,” he says. “We have no idea what life would have been like had we not had the accident, but I can say for sure that we have it pretty good as we are.
“It’s about daily choices. You decide to get up and make the most of life, or you don’t. We chose the first option.”
For more on Chris and Denise Arthey, click HERE.
For more information on the Supertri Blenheim Palace, click HERE.
