From 'surviving' to pain-free: How runner DeBues-Stafford overcame serious injuries

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford was in the best running shape of her life until she couldn't put weight on her left leg in the warmup area minutes before a women's 800-metre race last summer at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands.

Realizing there was a serious problem, the Canadian athlete called her coach Trent Stellingwerff, who knew a physiotherapist at the Continental Tour event. But when the injury didn't respond to treatment, DeBues-Stafford headed home to Victoria.

"I was hoping it was a glute strain," the two-time Olympic middle-distance runner recalled over the phone recently, nearly one year later. "I think I could have done the 800 but didn't want to put my leg into a race that could make a bad injury worse."

Nine days later on June 15, DeBues-Stafford announced her 2022 season was over due to a stress reaction in her sacrum, a single bone comprised of five separate vertebrae located at the bottom of the spinal column, connecting it to the pelvis.

An MRI simultaneously diagnosed the Toronto native with osteitis pubis — an inflammatory condition of the joint between the left and right pelvic bone.

"Being in pain was difficult," understated the four-time national champion. "I felt I was constantly running at the limit of what my body could do and was limited in [my] training."

These days, a pain-free DeBues-Stafford is running 100 kilometres a week and gaining fitness. On May 6, 343 days after her most recent race, she ran four minutes 6.71 seconds for second place in the 1,500 at the Sound Running Track Festival in Walnut, Calif.

After winning an 800 event a week later in Victoria, she flew to Italy last Sunday to prepare for Friday's Golden Gala meet in Florence. The women's 1,500 at 3:49 p.m. ET will