A mum-of-three who was scared to walk after she was run over by a tractor, is taking on the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon in October after she found a love of running.
Malika Wigley, who is originally from Corsica and now lives in Cardiff, was just eight years old when the horrific accident happened.
She said: “I was brough up in the wine making area in Corsica which was very rural, and we’d often get lifts by sitting in the trailer on the back of a tractor.
“One day I was out with my brothers and walking home for lunch when a farmer offered us a lift. I remember saying, ‘you don’t have a trailer so I’m not jumping on that’. But I was encouraged on. Only when the tractor started moving, I fell off and the big wheel went over my leg.
“In hindsight it was a miracle it only went over my leg, and it wasn’t my head or stomach.”
Malika’s femur was snapped clean in half, and she was rushed to hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries to repair her leg.
The 55-year-old IT worker recalled: “I was in hospital for a very long time. I had a metal plate put in and stitches up the whole length of my leg. Once the bone had regrown, they then had to reoperate and take the plate out. My left leg is now two inches longer than the other.”
Malika missed a year of school while her leg was left to heal in full plaster from hip to foot. It meant that all she could do was lie down and if she needed to go anywhere, her parents had to move her.
But when her cast could eventually come off, Malika was left traumatised.
She said: “When they took the plaster off, I refused to walk. I was convinced I’d fall over and break my leg again. I was so frightened.”
Instead, in the months that followed, Malika would sit with her leg straight and watch her friends play.
Only one day, months later, she could see her friends chasing each other outside. Without even thinking she just stood up and started running after them.
She said: “I must have really wanted to play, so forgot my fears and jumped up. That was the end of that and from then on, I ran everywhere.”
And Malika hasn’t stopped running since. She joined her school athletics team, completed her first marathon in 2007, and has taken part in dozens of half marathons.
She said: “I’ve done the Cardiff Half a couple of times before and there’s always such a great buzz. I was out watching it in 2023 and knew I needed to do the next one, so signed up.”
Her husband Ben and children, Leo, Madeline and Amelie will also be cheering her round the course.
Malika added: “It’s funny to think there was a time when I was too afraid to walk, let alone run as now I can’t imagine my life without it. It’s me. Running is part of my identity.
“I also try and encourage others into running too as know how beneficial it can be. When I went running with one friend in particular, we had to stop every few minutes for her to catch her breath, but now she’s planning to run a half marathon every month from January and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, said: “We have so many incredible and inspiring runners who take part in the Cardiff Half each year and Malika is no exception. We can’t wait to cheer her over the finish line.”
