Broken neck no barrier to running for gutsy first-time marathoner

But the high-speed fall, witnessed by friends, led to injuries hard to forget.

"Out of that I had a broken neck in two places, fractured skull, fractured check, broke my left hand, broke my right elbow, knocked out a tooth and had facial lacerations – I had over 40 stitches in my face," she said.

The recovery involved surgery and kept her in hospital for seven days, off work for a month and in a neck brace for three months.

But the Franklin public servant, 32, knows in some ways she got lucky given the damage to the C-1 and C-4 vertebrae at the top of her spine.

"I was millimetres away from it being a whole lot worse," she said.

"I could have been paralysed, I could have had brain damage, and if there was anything on the ground I could have lost my eye."

As the first anniversary of the accident approaches in April, Ms Weir has raised the bar for herself and will complete her first marathon in the Australian Running Festival.

"I started running five years ago, doing 10 kilometres and things like that, and I thought I'd love to do a marathon but I always had reasons why I couldn't," she said.

"One of the change of perspectives for me with my accident was that I don't have a reason not to."

Ms Weir said after the brace came off she and partner Kenny, a triathlete, went to Japan in October and became engaged. A former triathlon competitor herself, she eased back into the running on her return, but cycling and swimming now cause some pain to her elbow and neck.

Supported by members of triathlon club Females in Training and coach Di Edgar, she continued to focus on building up the "time in her legs".

"I'm approaching three-hour runs now," she said.

The Australian Running Festival is on the weekend of April 9-10, with The Canberra Times Canberra marathon on the Sunday. To register go to runningfestival.com.au