'Youngest hip patient' aiming to qualify for marathon months after surgery

An Edinburgh runner who shattered his hip at the 20th mile of a marathon has vowed to compete again in November - just six months after surgery.

Mark Baxter, 33, was told by Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff he was the youngest person they’d ever treated with a broken hip caused by sport - with one student nurse even including Mark’s story in her dissertation.

Mark’s dream is to run the ‘big six’ marathons - London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Tokyo and Boston - but to qualify for Boston he needs to run a sub-three hour marathon at one of the other major events. It was in pursuit of this goal that Mark was terribly injured.

Mark Baxter, 33, was told by Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff he was the youngest person they’d ever treated with a broken hip

“Running the London Marathon was, for me, a Boston qualifier attempt which I was on track to do when at mile 20, with six miles to go,” said Mark, who lives in Edinburgh.

“I suddenly experienced what can only be described as the most painful moment of my life.

“I was left heartbroken and in unbearable pain as the St. John Ambulance medic team wheel-chaired me off the course.

“Physically and mentally it was a struggle and a hard pill to swallow at not getting back to what I loved most, running.”

Mark Baxter, 33, was told by Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff he was the youngest person they’d ever treated with a broken hip caused by sport

Mark underwent major hip surgery three days later on April 24, which involved surgeons attaching a 20cm titanium plate with four screws placed into his left hip.

“The surgeon reluctantly told me the day after the surgery, that it would be extremely unlikely that I would run another marathon again due to the extent of the break and having to cut through my hip abductor muscle,” Mark said.

“He also told me that he suspected that I had a stress fracture before the race and that when I began the race, it gradually got worse to the point where it became a full fracture and the bone split at the neck of my femur.”

Despite his bad luck, and a deflating prognosis from his surgeon, Mark has vowed to bounce back and complete the New York marathon in November.

An x-ray of Mark Baxter's hip, post-surgery. Mark will now attempt to run the New York marathon in November.

Mark said his steely attitude stems from his mental health experiences in his twenties.

“Running gave me the confidence to seek a new direction and focus in my life after being admitted to hospital twice due to alcohol abuse as a holiday rep in my early twenties in the party resort of Magaluf, Spain,” he said.

“There are two ways people can deal with obstacles in their lives. One is to let it overwhelm you, burden you and put a limit/ceiling on your potential.

“The other is to use it as fuel, fuel to feed the burning fire inside to be the best version of who you are as a human.

“To defy the odds and show yourself and the world what you are capable of achieving using your mind-set and mental resilience.”