Essential Equipment for Wheelchair Users: Training and Event Day
After becoming a wheelchair user overnight at 17, Poppy May faced years of physical and mental challenges before rediscovering her strength through fitness. Now, she’s channelling that journey into Roll & Run, an inclusive run club built on the belief that no one gets left behind.
Eight years ago, Poppy May’s life changed overnight when she woke up unable to feel anything from the waist down.
Within days, her world shifted from being an active 17-year-old to navigating life as a wheelchair user, without clear answers.
“I literally woke up one day and couldn’t feel anything from my waist down to my toes,” she says. “They ran every test, every scan, and couldn’t find anything wrong. They said they think it is physiological so I was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder.”
After a short stay in a rehabilitation centre, where others around her regained mobility, Poppy was discharged without further support. She was left to adjust to life as a wheelchair user on her own.
“As I was discharged from services, I will never know whether they are correct or not and because I don’t have the funds to go private, I don’t know if I’ll get my mobility back.”
What followed were three of the hardest years of her life.
“I was in a very unstable place. In and out of psychiatric hospitals… I just didn’t know how to accept it,” she says. “I was trying to take my own life pretty much every day.”
Poppy’s turning point came when she joined her local gym and found a personal trainer who supported her in gradual goals like wheelchair pull-ups.
“I was on a lot of medication and I’d put on weight. I remember looking at myself and thinking, I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”
So she took the leap of faith to join a gym, despite never having set foot in one before and hating PE at school. From there, something clicked.
“I just kept chasing that feeling. The endorphins, the sense of power, it made me feel like myself again.”
That journey led to her first TCS London Marathon in 2024 for Scope. Crossing the Finish Line sparked something bigger.
“I remember thinking, I want more. I want to do more races.”
Today, she has done three marathons, seven half marathons, and twenty 10Ks, but it’s the atmosphere that keeps her coming back.
“It’s the crowd, the energy. Even when it gets tough, that’s what keeps you going.”
This year alone, Poppy completed the Brighton Marathon before taking on the TCS London Marathon just three weeks later. Next up is the Big Half on September 6, and one day, she hopes to push from Land’s End to John O’Groats, driven by the belief that “if you live in the ‘what ifs,’ you won’t do anything in life you want to do.”
Despite her growing confidence in races, Poppy’s early experiences with run clubs were far less positive.
“I’d go along and be left at the back,” she says. “Or routes wouldn’t be accessible. One time, everyone ran down a staircase and I was left at the top. No one knew what to do.”
So when Poppy attended a one-off run club hosted by para-athlete Milly Pickles, it stood out.
“They’d planned the whole route for all abilities. I loved that day - my cup was so full,” she says. “And I thought - why isn’t this everywhere?”
“I saw how big run clubs, like Runners and Stunners, were getting and how women were taking over the streets of London,” she says. “And I thought - how amazing would it be to see that with disabled people?”
After some research, she realised there wasn’t anything quite like it. “So I decided to start it myself”.
As so, Roll & Run (pictured above) was born - a run club for all abilities. The club meets every two weeks at 11am by the bandstand in Battersea Park, completing two loops to make up a 5K.
“We’ve had three events now and it’s been incredible,” she says.
“Everyone goes at their pace”
At the heart of the club is a simple but powerful principle: no one gets left behind.
“Everyone goes at their own pace,” Poppy explains. “If someone is slower, whether they’re new to using a wheelchair or they've never done a 5K before, we all stay together.”
For Poppy, seeing people turn up is deeply personal.
“It makes me feel proud. If something like this existed when I became disabled, I think I would have accepted it a lot sooner. It’s so important for anyone, disabled or not, to get outside and get moving.”
If you're training for the Big Half and you’d like to join Roll & Run, you can follow their instagram for their latest updates.
Poppy’s top three tips for wheelchair users on Event Day:
- “Set your pace - don’t start too fast or you’ll burn out.”
- “Stay in the middle of the road, as it’s usually flatter.”
- “Enjoy the experience - if you’re chasing a PB, you might not have as much fun.”
