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If You Fall:Paralympian to Deliver Inspirational Evening at RGU

The Institute for Health and Welfare Research (IHWR) at Robert Gordon University is set to play host to Karen Darke who will speak candidly about how she overcame paralysis to reclaim her life as an athlete and outdoor adventurer.

Karen will lead a free evening lecture that will be held at the Faculty of Health and Social Care on the university’s Garthdee campus from 6.15pm on Tuesday 8 November. Members of the public are currently being invited to attend this inspirational event.

Karen (40) has been a keen outdoor enthusiast from a young age, first climbing Mont Blanc at 20 years old. Only a few years later tragedy struck when, in 1993, she fell from a 10 metre-high cliff top during a climbing expedition which left her paralysed from the chest down. The accident proved to be a turning point for Karen, opening the door to what she now calls her ‘extraordinary new life’.

Karen’s passion for challenging boundaries and her love of the outdoors multiplied in the years following her paralysis, propelling her to overcome her physical limitations and accomplish incredible feats. In the last 18 years, she has, among other achievements: hand-cycled the length of Japan; kayaked along the coastline of British Columbia and through the Patagonian fjords; skied across the Greenland icecap; and climbed the kilometre-high vertical rock face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

With 2012 on the near horizon, Karen is now training for one of her biggest challenges to date – competing as part of the British Paracycling Team at the London Paralympic Games which take place between 29 August and 9 September. She most recently took bronze in the Women’s hand bike time trial and road race at the UCI Paracycling Road World Championships in Denmark in early September.

A passionate entrepreneur, Karen runs her own business – Inspire and Impact Ltd - as a coach, facilitator, author and speaker, and works regularly with young people, schools, businesses and other organisations.

On the evening of 8 November, Karen will offer the audience a special insight into her life which is underpinned by her philosophy that to have the most impact in life people should challenge their constraints, adopt a positive mindset and support each other to be the best they can be.

Karen said: “Disability is a state of mind more than a state of body; and I'm constantly amazed by what we can achieve if we set our mind to something. I look forward to speaking with the audience on the 8th and sharing my story.”

Professor Cherry Wainwright, Director of IHWR said: “We are delighted that Karen has agreed to deliver her talk and to share with us her own personal experience of facing up to some of life’s most cruel challenges – I am very much looking forward to hearing her speak and I am sure that she will be an inspiration to all who attend”

Members of the public are invited to attend the guest lecture which will begin at 6 for 6.15pm. To register attendance, email Events Manager, Barbara Jones, on b.a.jones@rgu.ac.uk.

Further information about Karen can be found at www.karendarke.com

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