A Quadriplegics Marathon

chris ——On July 30, 2014, I was working as a  professional skydiver and experienced a unique weather anomaly that would change my life forever.  I was taking a customer on a tandem jump when, at about 175 feet, we experienced something called a dust-devil, which collapsed our parachute and we plummeted to earth.  The passenger I was responsible for was killed.  I was left with near fatal wounds, including a punctured lung, a compound fracture of my femur and a broken neck in 5 places (C1-C5); all putting me in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, paralyzed from the chest down.

3 years later, I met Heather.  Immediately, we both felt we had a fantastical connection and are now putting our heads together to create some radical adventures....   

heather——I did run on the track team in high school, but was never a 'runner'.  Fast forward to my 40's, and I now have 5 marathons under my belt - 4 halves and 1 full, and can honestly say that I love running with big groups of people all focused on the same goal; the finish line.  It has shown me a completely different side of myself that I was never aware of when I was younger.  I think it's called 'mental endurance'... and I'm hooked.  I am also in the skydiving industry, and an avid wanderer of this planet.  My role in skydiving has been an awesome experience, as it has allowed me to move all over the states and freely continue my profession in the industry.
Having come back to New York this summer to work at a drop zone, I was visiting with Chris and had a revelation - that we should run a marathon and get the wind blowing in his face again...  Chris, of course, loved the idea and so here we are, planning to run in the Hampton's Half on September 29th, 2018; I will run and push Chris in a specially designed wheelchair that is light and fast.  We immediately became excited. The idea of giving Chris this experience, as well as sharing the marathon adrenaline with him, is inspiring me beyond anything I have set my mind to in the past and giving me a whole new giddiness towards life.
The running wheelchair is called The Blade, and with a few extra pieces of equipment for Chris such as numerous pads inside the chair, is going to cost about $4900.  We need help raising this type of dough, as we all know skydiver's are always broke.  (Chuckle)  We also want to do this as a symbol of what’s possible - for the Spinal Cord Injury community, and for disabled people across the board.  For those who start to feel like there is no hope and nothing to work towards.  

This next month is going to be a reality check for the both of us; training galore and lots of discipline, but we are extremely pumped to begin this adventure together and use it to fuel many more...   Once we successfully finish the Hamptons 1/2, (which we will!) we are going to tackle marathons all over the states and work our way up to full marathons and beyond.  We're gonna use the limit of the chair to find out what's unlimited...  And were gonna nail it every time!
 
Please, help us make this dream a reality!!!   We are asking you to help in any way you can!  Spread the word; come run with us; and please donate so you can be an integral part of all this adventuring!!!