Having thick skin might be what some people need to run the Queenstown half marathon, but one Stirling resident has little choice.
Cowley Electrical office manager Janine Ogden (37) has a rare form of arthritis called scleroderma, which causes hardening of the skin.
Mrs Ogden was diagnosed when she was 12 after she was unable to make a fist due to stiffening of her joints.
It was so bad at one stage she was unable to walk and was in a wheelchair because her leg tendons and muscles tightened up.
''They didn't know whether I would walk again,'' she said.
Her legs improved with treatment but her hands and toes were still affected by the disease.
Her internal organs were also affected, making breathing difficult.
But she did not let the arthritis hold her back.
''If anything, it makes me do more. [When] I get told I can't do something, I actually try to do it.''
This Saturday she will run the Queenstown half marathon along with thousands of others.
Last year she ran the full marathon, but decided to cut back this year to avoid injuring herself.
Before taking up running, Mrs Ogden enjoyed tramping.
However, she says it became too time-consuming so three years ago she decided to start ''running the trails instead of walking them''.
And running was easier on her joints.
Mrs Ogden has competed in several half marathons and endurance running events such as the Shotover Moonlight Marathon, which involved running 30km off-road through high country in Central Otago.
She set her own goals and did not compare herself to others.
She aimed to do well in everything she did, including raising her two children, Max (7) and Sam (6), doing her best at work and challenging herself in running events.
