10-tonne truck challenge ‘HOW I GOT MY GROOVE BACK'

Gutsy gran Sharon has gone from strength to strength!

- Cloe Willetts

When Porirua grandma Sharon Rose thought about the best way to celebrate her 50th birthday, she knew a simple cake and candles wouldn't cut it. Instead, she marked the milestone by standing in a carpark surrounded by 100 cheering onlookers, using the body weight of her 1.5m (4'11") frame to a pull a 10-tonne truck.

"I never believed I'd make it to 50 and I promised myself if I did, I'd do something big," explains Sharon, who struggles with anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from childhood trauma.

"I've survived five suicide attempts and once I got to 45, I realised I was probably going to make it to 50. I wanted to do something strong for it.”

Known to family and friends as “Shazza”, the grandmother-of-seven decided to set a six-month goal last year to get physically strong. She originally wanted to pull a four-tonne ambulance, raising money along the way for the Wellington Free Ambulance service, since they'd been there each time to save her life.