AT the age of 16 doctors told Bolton Octagon’s Elizabeth Newman that she would never walk again.

But now the theatre’s artistic director is in training for the Great Manchester 10K Run!

“I’m terrified but determined to do it,” she said. “It will be physically challenging, but I think it’s really important to try to do something that is beyond your normal limits.”

Elizabeth is hoping to raise £5,000 towards the theatre’s £10m regeneration project, a large part of which will involve improving access into and around the theatre.

“I believe passionately that everyone should have access to the arts – that’s one of the main reasons I became an artistic director,” Elizabeth said.

“As well as audiences, the building needs to be fully accessible and navigable by visiting artists and staff.”

Originally from Croydon in south London, she joined the theatre in 2009 after landing a place on the UK's longest-running training scheme for young theatre directors.

In 2015 she was appointed as its artistic director.

Her desire to make theatre open to all is borne from her own experience of physical challenges.

Suddenly struck down by a neurological condition at the age of just 13, her dream of becoming a ballet dancer was over and she faced a long and painful road to recovery.

She said: “At 13, I didn’t know what to do with myself. My way of coping had gone. What I loved, I couldn’t do any more. That was really hard.

“You don’t expect your body to abandon you. From the neck down, I lost my faculties. At one point, my speech was impaired as well. I experienced spasms.

Forced to use a wheelchair for a number of years, Elizabeth recalled: “I think I was struggling with not being the person that I was before and mourning for that — being angry, but not wanting to be angry.”

Treatment suggested by doctors included breaking her legs in several places before resetting them and further hours of intense physiotherapy.

She said: “I wasn’t convinced that was the right way to go.”

Unable to stand up unaided, she contacted a woman who dealt with geriatric neurology patients for help and her doctors agreed she could be treated by her but wanted to see signs of improvement within six months.

She said: “I had to go back to being a baby. I learnt to walk again from rolling on my belly, pushing up, crawling. It was horrible. It must’ve been so much harder for my mum and my pops. It was pops who used to have to put me in my splints every night and it was so painful.

“It was my mum who had to be strong when I didn’t want to fight any more. I’m one of the luckiest women alive. I’m incredibly lucky because of my family. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. They wouldn’t let me give up.”

Elizabeth has not had to use any walking aids for 10 years and considers herself extremely lucky because she has friends who remain bedridden or still rely on wheelchairs.

Her current training regime involves twice weekly sessions with a personal trainer and long runs in the early morning. But as she gets closer to May 20 – the date of the Great Manchester Run – things will get more intensive.

But challenge is nothing new for Elizabeth, who lives in Heaton.

Apart from overcoming her earlier physical difficulties, she directed her first play at 16 and was running a theatre in London by the age of 22.

“I’ll be walking rather than running but my main objective is to actually finish it. It’s not about being the fastest or being the best, it’s about achieving something,” she said.

Elizabeth, who was named Bolton's Woman of the Year at the third annual Inspirational Women of Bolton Awards last year, will be joined on her walk by friends, colleagues and supporters from local businesses.

“I’m lucky that they’ve got involved – I might need a helping hand as I hobble across the finish line,” Elizabeth laughed.