Limb-it-less Shaz Dagg to run the Rotorua half marathon

05 August 2022

For Shaz Dagg an arm amputation was “the best thing that happened in her life” and the 56-year-old grandmother has set her next big challenge completing the Rotorua Half Marathon on September 17 September as the next step on her incredible journey.

It was while working on a goat farm in Feilding six years ago when Shaz’s life changed forever. A freak gust of wind slammed her against a corrugated iron fence between the post and gate snapping her left arm.

Sustaining two severe breaks the arm deteriorated and after complications and three months of surgery her arm hung limply by her side.

“My arm was useless, it just hung there,” she explains. “I got the point after about four or five months where I thought I don’t need this dragging my life down, so I made the decision to have it removed. To be honest, it was the best day of my life having me and Stumpy. It started the best journey of my life.”

Formerly a keen cyclist who dabbled in jogging, Shaz set to prove her disability was no bar to achieving ambitious goals. For a period she competed on the global circuit as a Para triathlete and in 2021 she completed the gruelling Coast to Coast challenge to become the first female amputee to conquer the 243km race.

Targeting the Coast to Coast again in 2023, Shaz has however turned to the half marathon as part of the historic Rotorua Marathon for her next challenge and she is relishing the prospect of ticking off another major goal on September 17.

“I thought in the countdown to the Coast to Coast the Rotorua Marathon would be a good way to get moving again,” admits Feilding-based Shaz. “I’ve heard Rotorua is such a cool and iconic event with such a friendly atmosphere.

“I thought that sounds like me as long as they don’t mind this one-winged old chuck trudging along I’m ready to go.”

Shaz – whose personal Facebook page is cleverly entitled Limb-it-less – has never let her disability stand in her way and she refuses assistance for any challenge, resolutely learning any new skills with her one good hand.

Taking on every day with enthusiasm and positivity, what would it mean for Shaz to complete the Rotorua Half Marathon – which takes place in the beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest?

“It would mean ticking off another challenge at an iconic event,” says Shaz who works as a Sport Development Advisor for Parafed Manawatu and is aiming for a time of around 2:15. “Hopefully I’ll help bring some awareness for others to get out there and give things a go. If I can encourage one person to get up off the couch and take on a fresh challenge, then I feel I’ve set out what I wanted to achieve.”