Turia Pitt is staging a comeback to the sport that almost killed her 13 years ago, when she suffered horrific burns after being caught in a bushfire during a 100km ultramarathon in Western Australia.
“I’ve signed up to do the Gold Coast Half Marathon,” reveals the athlete. She has endured more than 200 operations to repair some of the damage she suffered when the incident left her with burns to 65% of her body.
To even enter the race in July, let alone finish the 21.1km required, is an extraordinary achievement for Turia. The Tahitian-born 37-year-old thought her injuries were so severe that she may never recover, let alone thrive.
“I thought I would never run again,” admits Turia. “One good thing about my accident is that it tested me beyond what any normal human faces… I had to rebuild my life completely from scratch.
“I couldn’t even walk, I couldn’t brush my hair and I couldn’t wipe my arse. For a while, I was in that low point of my life. But I found the tools within me to learn how to get out of bed and start walking.”
Her celebrated resilience and determination to rebuild her life continues to inspire millions of people around the world. Indeed, there were no shortage of people celebrating Turia when she announced her comeback.
“You’re a champion,” shared one supporter, while another posted, “You’ve got this, Turia. You are strong, fit and you can win any marathon.”
Another fan said, “Turia, you’re my heroine. Whenever I feel sorry for myself, I think of you and your strength, and I become inspired again.”
The athlete – who lives in Ulladulla, three hours south of Sydney – doesn’t consider herself brave, despite all the hardships she has endured.
But she has actively shared her journey with the world to show what can be achieved when you set your mind to it.
And there have been many milestones since that terrible September day in 2011.
Having lost all the fingers on her right hand and two fingers on her left hand, Turia spent six months in hospital. She endured two years in a full-body compression suit and mask, before famously removing it for the first time on 60 Minutes (see below).
The former mining engineer documents her journey – including competing in two gruelling Ironman competitions just three years after removing the suit – on Instagram, where she now has almost one million followers.
Throughout her long and difficult recovery, Michael Hoskin’s unconditional love and support has blessed Turia. She fell in love with him when she was just a teenager. She says he still makes her feel like she’s the luckiest girl in the world.
Former police officer Michael is now a helicopter pilot. The couple are raising their two boys – Hakavai, seven, and Rahiti, five – together at their rural New South Wales home.
The pair got engaged in 2015, but Turia, who says she’s known for many years that Michael is her one and only “life partner”, wanted to wait until she felt she looked her best before tying the knot.
Turia revealed two years ago that she’d flown to Baltimore in the United States. She’d found a surgeon who could operate on her nose to improve her breathing and make it look more symmetrical.
“When I think about marrying Michael, I want to look really good,” she says. Turia stresses that she was having the surgery purely for herself and that Michael’s devotion has never once wavered.
“I want to have a nice big smile, a nice even nose, long, glossy, wavy hair, my big eyes, my shoulders will be tanned, and I’ll wear a floral crown and black pearls,” she reveals.
Turia manages an online Run With Turia programme on top of hosting a podcast and working as a motivational speaker. Regardless, she now firmly focuses on training for the Gold Coast Half Marathon.
Admitting to her fans that she feels “annoyed” with herself after losing her running fitness following the birth of Rahiti in February 2020, Turia says she plans to ramp up her half-marathon training throughout May.
“I’m also trying to practise what I preach,” she says. “I try to remind myself that I can’t compare myself to previous versions of myself and that’s OK. I’m finding myself again.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
