Bones broken but you can't keep a good coach down

Chris Pilone was knocked off his bike in Boulder, Colorado, and left fighting for his life. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Chris Pilone doesn't want to know how many smashed ribs he has.

Nor does he spare a thought for his fractured pelvis.

When he was hit by a van travelling about 90km/h while cycling in the United States seven weeks ago, those injuries were the least of his worries. He was fighting for his life.

The top sports coach and former champion marathon runner was in critical care with internal bleeding, a collapsed lung and a broken shoulder blade. Then there were the broken ribs and a hairline pelvis fracture.

It has been a hard, painful road to recovery so far but tomorrow he hopes to be well enough to watch the Auckland Marathon, where one of his athletes, Dale Warrander, is hot favourite, aiming to dip below 2h 15m.

Pilone has an offer to travel in the lead car as it guides the front-runners from Devonport, over the Harbour Bridge, along the waterfront to St Heliers and back to Victoria Park.

"I'm not too sure if I will [be able to go in the car]," Pilone said this week. "I have good days and bad days."

It is no wonder. The 49-year-old, coach of Olympic gold medallist Hamish Carter was in Boulder, Colorado, overseeing training programmes for several charges, including triathlete Jo Lawn.

Heading out for a three-hour ride on September 9, he was struck while cycling along Route 36, a road he says is about as busy as Tamaki Drive.

He has no memory of what happened. The bike frame was snapped in half and he was thrown on to the front of the van he collided with, his chest taking the worst of the impact.

Although his injuries were severe, Pilone was determined to get back on his feet as soon as he could. "I wasn't going to lie there like a vegetable."

He spent several weeks recuperating at the Boulder home of Kiwi marathon runner and Olympic bronze medallist Lorraine Moller and her husband.

His tough attitude and fitness have been crucial factors in his recovery.

Leading up to the accident, he was riding 600km a week, including a seven-hour training session with Lawn two days beforehand.

Being struck down in Boulder was a "one-in-10 million event", he says, as the roads were good, the drivers courteous.

"In Auckland, the standard of driving is poor and the roads are bad. Here you would have some sort of minor thing every day and you have to ride defensively."

Pilone, who gave up running in 1999, hasn't decided whether to get back on a bike but he may start jogging.

Nothing, it seems, will keep him down.