Runner Healing After Hit By Car During Austin Marathon

PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- A Pflugerville runner continues to recover after being struck by a car during this past weekend’s Austin marathon.

Lani Nguyen Martinez, 31, was hit from behind while running on Foster Lane, between Great Northern and Shoal Creek boulevards Sunday morning. She had just passed the 17 -mile quarter at the time of the accident, reports the Austin American-Statesman.

She was running in the center of the runners’ lane when she was hit around 11 a.m.

“I saw a runner look back at me, and wondered what he was looking at,” she told the newspaper. “All of the sudden I just felt impact and the back of my head hit the hood. I remember seeing a flash of part of the car and then I rolled off and hit the pavement.”

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, and she was transported to the North Austin Medical Center for treatment of a concussion and neck strain. She was released from the hospital a few hours later.

“I woke up today feeling like I got hit by a car, then thought ‘Oh wait, I did,’” the billing analyst for Apple Inc. told the Statesman. “I’m banged up and have a lot of headaches, but for once I’m not sore from running.”

Undeterred, she plans to finish the marathon as soon as her doctors give their okay. Austin Marathon officials will provide a special dispensation just for her, and give her a finisher’s medal when she is finally able to complete the race.