Australian fitness influencer Laura Henshaw has opened up about the New York City Marathon nightmare that almost landed her in hospital due to a very simple mistake.
Henshaw, who runs the health and wellness business Kic alongside Steph Claire Smith, was one of 50,000 people signed up to run roughly through the five boroughs on November 3.
However, the night before the race she found herself throwing up after accidentally consuming cashew yogurt.
Henshaw, who is allergic to nuts, had bought the prebiotic yogurt drink thinking it was made from cow’s milk.
“I was trying to carb load as much as possible, I have been drinking these prebiotic yoghurt drink things, they’re high in carbohydrates,” she told her social media followers.
“I had a sip of it, I was like, let me just check it doesn’t have nuts or traces, it’s not worth risking it before the marathon.
“I look down and see it contains cashews.”
She ran to the bathroom and spat it out; however, she had swallowed a small amount.
By 11:30pm the night before the marathon she started feeling ill.
She said she thought she wasn’t going to be able to compete, as she was expected to wake up at 4.15am to make it on to a bus to get to the start line.
She said she began vomiting at 1:30am.
“I haven’t had a reaction that bad in five years,” she said.
Henshaw was “heartbroken”, thinking her dreams of competing in her first marathon were over.
By about 2am she managed to fall asleep.
When her alarm went off just after 4am, she woke up no longer feeling nauseous and made the incredible decision to get on the bus and compete in the marathon.
She managed to complete it in 3 hours and 37 minutes.
“I’m so proud I did it,” she said.
She urged her followers to always follow allergy guidelines.
“Allergies are very serious friends. I had a mild allergic reaction which is why I didn’t go to hospital,” Henshaw said.
