Marie O'Donnell lives to run.

A smoker until she was 50 years old, O'Donnell came into the sport relatively late in life. But seeking a way to better herself, O'Donnell gravitated to running as a means to change the course her life was on."I always thought to myself, 'What, am I going to start running for at 50? I must be nuts,'" she said. "But I look and I think of the box that I have downstairs that is filled with trophies, awards and medals … there are people half my age that can't do that."Now 65 and over a decade into her running career, O'Donnell completed two marathons, 10 half marathons and countless 10K and 5K races.What has been an outlet and great source of positivity also provided O'Donnell with one of the most trying times of her life.On Dec. 16, 2013, just over a block from her home in Lansford, a car struck her at the intersection of Ridge and Sharpe streets.O'Donnell had taken a few steps through the intersection heading east on Ridge Street when she felt something pushing on the back of her legs."I tried to get out of the way, but I couldn't. She came up behind me and pushed me down," O'Donnell recalled. "I don't remember hitting the ground, but when I did come to - and I must have been out for a while - I was lying on my back. I couldn't raise my head, and when I looked, I could feel something pressing me (against the ground), and when I looked, I just saw her back tire go across my chest."At that moment, O'Donnell suffered a C6 transverse process fracture in her neck, a broken rib on her left side and several broken ribs on her right side, in addition to a variety of injuries ranging from her feet to her head.In a matter of minutes, bystanders swarmed O'Donnell, covering her with their coats, as she lay on the snowy ground, conscious throughout the ordeal. Her husband, Dennis, was nearby at a barbershop and rushed to his wife's side when he was told a car had struck her.An eternity"The people that were there, to their credit, they did everything right," she said. "It was probably a matter of minutes until the ambulance got there, but it felt like an eternity."When paramedics arrived, they quickly realized O'Donnell had life-threatening injuries after seeing the tire mark across her chest and promptly airlifted her to St. Luke's Trauma Center in Bethlehem from the St. Luke's Hospital-Miners Campus in Coaldale."I can't say enough about them. I got excellent care," she said. "They saved my life, they really did."Fluid and blood had accumulated in her lungs.O'Donnell went into shock and was intubated upon her arrival in Bethlehem, where she stayed until Dec. 23."They sent me home with a slight hole in my lung, but they took four X-rays that day to make sure it was staying stable and not getting any bigger," she said.The fracture in her neck forced her to wear a collar 24 hours a day for eight weeks.With no strength in her neck, O'Donnell required extensive rehabilitation, but was able to avoid any surgery.Cleared to goOnce she was cleared to begin running again, O'Donnell began to notice some of the residual effects from the accident."I had a big contusion on my right calf, and they told me that eventually it would go away. And it did," she said. "But the damage to that calf muscle has affected my Achilles. I have calcification of my Achilles, and it's actually hardening and deteriorating."I went to therapy for it, and it's better … but I can't do long distances anymore."But she was able to run, an exercise she was admittedly apprehensive about before she finally took to the road in March of 2014."At first it was scary, it was very scary, because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it again," said O'Donnell. "I went very slow, and it took me a couple of times before I could even go 1 mile. But when I ran that 1 mile, I was beyond thrilled."The biggest thing to work on was to strengthen my lungs. I spent eight weeks in a recliner. I couldn't lay in a bed because I had so much pain. It was basically three months of doing nothing. It was tough."Undaunted by what many would see as obstacles, O'Donnell has pushed on and adapted to what she is now able to do."I've always been a loner when it comes to running. I don't have running partners, and I like to run alone. If I'm running for a race, I train alone," she said. "I did the same thing with my recovery. When I had a good run, maybe sometimes I would post it on Facebook or somewhere."But it was three steps forward, two steps back. People will say, 'Why did you even bother to do it again?' I've been running for almost 16 years and it's just part of me. It's what I do. Everybody has goals in life. Once I was recovered and felt a little bit stronger, I said, 'I want to run again.' I don't want this to be the end of my running career. When I decide my running career is over, I want to be the one that makes the decision. I didn't want this to define me."And it hasn't. O'Donnell has competed in seven races so far this year, her longest a 10K, and she will participate in the Hershey Half Marathon two-person relay with her cousin this October."I want to do this as long as I can," she said. "I've never won a race; I've never known that thrill. But I do it just for myself. It just makes me feel better, and that's all that matters."