The Overcome Warrior

Shawnita Furbert set out to prove to herself that she could bounce back. Four years ago, she was seriously injured in a road traffic accident. The head-on collision left her with a broken femur, multiple fractures to her pelvis and the loss of her big toe on the right foot.

She had to be flown to Boston to be treated for her injuries and her teenaged son, who was also on the bike, suffered a cardiovascular arterial tear and had to be sent to Lahey Health Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts.

The 53-year-old had never participated in the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby, and in 2022, she entered for the first time, finishing tenth in the women’s 50-59 age group, 477th out of 557 finishers in a time of 2hr 41min 49sec.

Bermuda’s number one tennis player, Tariq Simons ran in the Derby for the first time in support (fundraising) to assist Bermuda’s Top Junior player, Daniel Phillips in his bid to turn pro. Tariq left home, forgetting his ‘bib’ number which contains the “chip” for timing and scoring, therefore, he had to settle for un-official result of 1:36.31min placing 44th overall.