Donna Campisi - The Unlikely Marathoner

At 7 years old, Donna Campisi survived a sudden stroke (and other serious complications) which left her grasping for life.  Doctors said she would never walk or talk again, yet today she sets amazing challenges to helps others to overcome their situations and to achieve.  In 2012, Donna set herself the challenge to go from 30 wobbly steps to running an entire marathon!  No small feat.  Not only did she achieve her goal, but she also inspired hundreds of people along the way and her marathon success raised $36,000 for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.  Most of all, she proved that there’s no such thing as can’t! 

Today, Donna is an inspirational speaker, workshop facilitator, and coach.  She's a published author, with her most recent book titled ‘The Unlikely Marathoner – How to conquer your big goal and run with it’, gained keen interest before printing even started.  She uses her blog on www.RunDonnaRun.com.au to inspire many people around the world, and Donna believes that any challenge is achievable when broken into ‘baby steps’ and having the right mindset. She explains with confidence: ‘Don’t just take opportunities when they come… Create opportunities!’

Some key quotes from our conversation include:

• I don't worry that it will happen again, because I'm not the type of person to focus on what if's...(8:46)
• There was a time where I was living like a time bomb (9:09)
• I'm the type of person that likes to focus on what I can do (13:05)
• I started with 20 steps
• He said Donna, anybody can run a marathon, it's all to do with your mindset (21:35)
• There's no such thing as can't (22:26)
• I could either feel sorry for myself and stay in a wheel chair and have other people do things for me (26:10)
• I didn't want to be a hassle to my parents or my family (26:40)
• My first step is believing you can (28:25)
• If you've got a big goal but you're not believing that you can, then you may as well not even try... (28:35)
• Is this going to make me go backwards?  I've put a lot of work into this body (39:45)
• They always showed strength to me, and that is probably what kept me going (46:50)

You can find more of Donna at:

Website:  www.rundonnarun.com.au
FB Group:  www.facebook.com/groups/adventurebeyondlimits
FB page:      https://www.facebook.com/RunDonnaRun
Her Running Coaches:  http://brewstersrunning.com/

Plus you can pick up a copy of her latest book 'The Unlikely Marathoner' at http://theunlikelymarathoner.com