The 2009 smash claimed the life of a fellow passenger, and left Joe Robinson fearing he’d never walk again.
A keen sportsman told he may never walk again after a crash which cost a fellow backseat passenger her life has marked 10 years since the tragic accident by completing the world’s toughest race on earth, covering 155 miles across the Sahara Desert – running with his little sister.
On April 7 2009, Joe Robinson’s family were told he had just a three per cent chance of survival after he accepted a lift home from a friend’s 18th birthday party in a car driven by Gabriella Edmondson – who was one-and-a-half times the legal drink-driving limit when the vehicle hit a tree, killing Grace Hadman, 17.
And, a decade to the exact date of the crash, surveyor Joe, 29, of Battersea, south west London, and his sister, Grace, 28, a major events manager, of Thame, Oxfordshire, ran in the Marathon des Sables – a six-day desert ultramarathon.
Sadly, by day four of the epic event, Grace was forced to quit, but Joe finished the course, at last giving him closure after the crash which left him with a fractured skull, a broken neck and back and a punctured lung.
With everyone involved in the crash a past or present pupil at the £35,000-a-year St Edwards School in Oxford, a third passenger, Harry Hembrow, then 17, escaped with minor injuries like Gabriella, then 17, who was subsequently jailed for 28 months after admitting causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit at Oxford Crown Court.
Explaining why he and Grace, a major events manager, entered the ultramarathon, Joe said: “When we saw the dates and that they aligned exactly with the day of the crash, my sister and I knew we had to sign up.”
He continued: “The way it all fell in to place so perfectly, it was like the universe was telling us to do it.
“Now April 7 isn’t the day that I nearly lost my life in a car crash, it’s the day I came full circle and began the toughest marathon on the planet – and the rest of my life.”
Back in 2009 when the crash happened, the world had been Joe’s oyster. He had finished his A-levels and just returned from the trip of a lifetime exploring Fiji, Australia and Thailand.
But then he accepted a lift from Gabriella Edmondson, who drove despite warnings from some friends that she had been drinking, and in a split second everything changed.
Rushed to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, Joe was immediately put into an induced coma to try and reduce the brain damage he had suffered on impact, leaving his beloved parents Kevin, now 65, and Judy, now 67, and Grace, praying for a miracle.
Joe said: “The months after the crash were very tough, but I wouldn’t have got through them were it not for the constant care and support of my parents and Grace.”
“Grace was still at school, but would race across town in every spare moment to come and see me in hospital,” Joe continued.
“I’m her older brother and had always been quite protective of her. But after the crash, our roles were reversed and she was suddenly the one looking after me.”
Despite a dire prognosis, and his family having to say their final goodbyes not once, but twice, with hard work and unerring positivity, Joe made a slow but spectacular recovery and, in July 2018, he signed up for the Marathon des Sables.
Then Joe, who is fundraising for spinal cord injury charity Walk Once More, soon realised that if he wanted to boost his donations, he would have to be inventive.
He explained: “At first I was doing all these huge runs around London parks, but no one seemed to grasp just how long they were.
“Then one day I thought I’d run the length of an entire Tube line. Suddenly people could relate to it, and I’d notice a real spike in donations.”
A keen hockey player, Joe would often train straight after his weekly match on a Saturday, finishing at 6.30pm, before doing a long-distance run.
Once after playing hockey, he ran an incredible 53 miles – just three weeks before the marathon, from Barnes, in south west London, to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where he had been treated after the accident.
He said: “That run was my last big one before the ultra-marathon and it felt special that it ended at the John Radcliffe.”
He added: “I set off at 6.30pm in the evening and arrived at 9.30am in the morning. It was tough, but worth it. It felt like something I had to do – physically and psychologically.”
On April 3, Joe and Grace flew from London Heathrow to Ouarzazat, Morocco, before heading to the starting point campsite, where they had two full days of administration.
“You don’t just turn up to the toughest marathon in the world and get going, there was a lot of paperwork and health checks,” Joe explained.
Strict marathon rules mean that every contestant must be equipped with the recommended number of calories and water for each day, as well undergoing health screenings to check on cardiovascular performance – including an ECG.
As the whistle blew on April 7, it served not only as the start of the six-day marathon, but also as a powerful reminder to Joe and Grace that 10 years ago to the day he had almost lost his life.
Joe said: “As we started the race, I couldn’t help but feel like I was leaving the old me behind and starting a new chapter in my life.”
Despite having no access to the internet or a phone, Joe and Grace would be delivered messages left online by well-wishers at the end of each day in person, by marathon organisers.
But while Joe was off to a running start, by the end of the first day Grace was in the medical tent, suffering with dehydration and exhaustion, which looked set to topple her. However, by sunrise the next day determined Grace was back on track.
Then, six miles in to the notoriously difficult fourth day – the first half of a 53-mile race spread over two days – Grace, covered in blisters, slammed the emergency button on her backpack and threw in the towel.
Joe explained: “It broke my heart seeing Grace in that condition. She was absolutely exhausted and couldn’t go on any further.
“We were waiting for a long time for the medics. When they arrived they hooked her up to a drip that they hung off a nearby tree.”
While Joe waited for her sister to be taken back to the base camp, two camels that determined whether a contestant will be disqualified were soon catching up.
Joe continued: “If the two camels catch up with you, you’re disqualified from the game.
“Grace kept telling me I had to go without her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Then something clicked and I knew I had to carry on.”
Joe added: “Saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Not knowing when I was going to see her next was utterly heart-breaking.”
But, despite being one of the toughest days of his life, it was also one of the most important.
“As I ran toward the next checkpoint I was engulfed in a sandstorm,” he recalled. “I turned around to catch one last glance of Grace and could see nothing but clouds of sand.”
“Then it dawned on me, that 10 years earlier it had been Grace who was told she might never see me again, she was the one fearing she would have to say goodbye,” he said.
“It might sound small in comparison, but it put things in to perspective for me. Of course, I knew Grace was going to be ok, I knew I’d see her at some point – whereas she and my family didn’t have that luxury.”
With two more days ahead of him, the final slog was something Joe now had to face alone, and crossing the finish line of the 155 mile race was something he would never forget.
He explained: “Obviously I was gutted when I had to leave Grace, but that final stretch on my own was a really life-changing time.
“It not only put the race in to perspective, but also my entire journey over the past 10 years.
“Sat at the top of the third sand mountain, I could see the finish line in the distance and had a moment to myself, in the incredible surroundings.”
“It wasn’t just the end of the marathon, it was the finish line of the recovery – the end of being a car crash survivor,” he said.
Joe was reunited with Grace after finishing the optional 10km ‘fun run.’
“I wouldn’t call it a fun run exactly, but I’m glad I did it for the T-shirt,” Joe laughed.
Discussing what he plans doing for the next anniversary on April 7 2020, Joe said: “I don’t think I’ll ever top the Marathon des Sables – after all it is the toughest marathon in the world.
“I’m just looking forward to spending the next anniversary celebrating what Grace and I achieved, and letting go of the crash that happened all those years ago.”
To donate to Joe and Grace’s fundraising page visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/siblingsinthesahara
