export_ofoct.com (13)

[00:00.38] Amy: How about you? Have you ever been in an accident?

[00:02.38] Paul: Not a car accident. I was in a bicycle accident.

[00:06.63] Amy: Yeah?

[00:07.38] Paul: I laugh now but at the time, it was pretty bad.

[00:11.13] Amy: What happened?

[00:13.38] Paul: It was dark and it was Christmas day. And I was on my bicycle going down a quite steep slope and my telephone rang.

[00:24.63] And I looked at my mobile phone and I took it out of my pocket whilst riding my bike.

[00:31.88] And looked at it and noticed it was my dad and he was ringing to wish me a happy Christmas.

[00:37.88] So I felt sort of compelled to answer the phone. So answering the phone, still going down the hill, probably gathering speed.

[00:48.38] It's dark and I'm trying to get my dad off the phone as soon as I can.

[00:54.38] And before I knew it, I drove straight into the back of a parked black car.

[01:04.13] Amy: Oh no.

[01:04.88] Paul: I saw it at the very last minute. So I hit the back of it and my body slammed into the ground, and I broke a few bones, yeah. Yeah.

[01:17.13] Amy: Oh no.

[01:17.88] Paul: Yeah, yeah. It was a pretty miserable Christmas to be honest with you.

[01:20.38] Amy: I'd say it's terrible. That's the worst.

[01:23.12] Paul: Yeah.

[01:23.63] Amy: Did the owner of the car see what happened? Did you damage the car?

[01:27.13] Paul: I didn't stay long enough. I got out of there pretty quickly.

[01:32.88] Amy: And went to the hospital.

[01:35.37] Paul: No, I was a bit stubborn. I don't know why. I was the worst night sleep I've ever had but yeah, I didn't go to the hospital until the next day.

[01:47.88] Amy: What bones did you break?

[01:50.13] Paul: I broke my collarbone, the clavicle.

[01:54.13] Amy: Oh, a nightmare.

[01:55.38] Paul: And I broke a few ribs.

[01:56.37] Amy: Oh no, ribs. That's the worst because they can't do anything for it. They just send you on your way and you just have to cough in pain.

[02:03.63] Paul: Hmm.

[02:04.88] Amy: Oh no.

[02:05.63] Paul: Yeah. But it could have been a lot worse, you know.

[02:07.88] Amy: Hmm, that's true.

[02:08.88] Paul: Yeah. I could have broken my neck.

[02:10.38] Amy: So how long did it take you to recover?

[02:13.12] Paul: It took me about probably six weeks, I suppose.

[02:18.37] Amy: Hmm.

[02:19.37] Paul: Yeah, because then—actually, in the following —it happened on Christmas day, so three months later in the March, I was lucky enough to win a place in the Tokyo marathon.

[02:30.87] And I really wanted to do it because it's quite difficult to get. It's like a lottery now. There's so many people who apply to get a position.

[02:39.38] So I wasn't going to let this accident stop me from running the Tokyo marathon. So I was trying to rush it, really and I shouldn't have. But I did. I've run there.

[02:52.38] Amy: Did you?

[02:52.87] Paul: Yeah.

[02:53.63] Amy: Oh, my goodness.

[02:55.63] Paul: Yeah, I finished it but—

[02:56.38] Amy: Congratulations. But how were you? That must have really hindered your recovery.

[03:01.13] Paul: It hindered my training period for the marathon, yeah, so.

[03:06.13] Amy: But you finished it though.

[03:08.88] Paul: I finished it, yeah.

[03:09.88] Amy: Well done.

[03:10.38] Paul: I wouldn't do it again. Marathons are miserable things to be. Really.

[03:15.13] Why put yourselves through that pain? I still like running so maybe in the future, I'd do a half marathon or something, yeah.

[03:27.88] But a full marathon—my marathon days are over, I think. Yeah.