Nathan Cruz and Helman Roman will be among the 20,000 participants gathering at the start line of the 2012 ING Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon® January 29, but their "run" to get there took blood, sweat and tears.
Competing under the banner of Achilles International, Cruz and Roman are part of the Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans, a program that brings hand cycle and other forms of racing to disabled veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Achilles' mission is to enable all types of disabled individuals to participate in mainstream athletics in order to promote personal achievement, enhance self esteem and lower barriers to living a fulfilling life.The organization has chapters and members in more than 70 countries, including an active group in South Florida.
Cruz lives in Kendall and will be participating in his first career marathon, while Roman, from Manchester, CT, will be cheered on by a group of Miami relatives.
Achilles athletes have long had a presence in the ING Miami Marathon, and a record group of 92 athletes are planning to participate in 2012. Nineteen will be competing from the South Florida chapter and an international group will be traveling to Miami from countries that include Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Italy and Austria.
Cruz will have just two weeks to train for his initial marathon after recently receiving his first hand cycle. But that doesn't faze the retired Army staff sergeant. He already has bounced back from accidents that left him in a wheelchair for more than 18 months.
A member of the United States Special Operations Command when the helicopter he was piloting went down in Afghanistan in 2008, Cruz was flown back to the United States to receive additional treatment for a concussion and injured back. After three days in the hospital, he was biking to a doctor's appointment when he was struck and run over by a car.
The injuries proved to be more debilitating than his war injuries -- a shattered femur, broken hip and a crushed right hand that was saved by doctors and then reconstructed. His wife left him while he was in the hospital.
The 18 months in a wheel chair and the accompanying physical therapy was difficult for a Special Forces-trained veteran specially selected for toughness and athleticism. Cruz had suicidal thoughts.
"Finally, I said, 'That's enough!' and I started doing exercises on my own," says Cruz, who has endured 14 surgeries. "I can't take a lot of stress on my leg, and my hand has limited mobility, but today I walk. I really believe because my wife left me is why I am walking today. I didn't have anyone to help me. It made me strong. Everything happens for a reason."
A chance reunion with a childhood girlfriend through Facebook was also paramount to his healing. At first they talked on the phone, but they have been together ever since she showed up after his third surgery. Today she is his wife.
Thankful for the Achilles program that has further helped him regain his athletic prowess, Cruz has devoted his life to giving back and meeting the needs of the injured.
As part of a Wounded Warrior mentoring program, he travels throughout the United States visiting the bedsides of recently-injured soldiers. A certified scuba instructor, Cruz teaches scuba to Wounded Warriors and also operates a cross-fit program in Kendall for individuals with disabilities.
Despite his lack of marathon experience, Cruz is confident that his participation in paralympic competitions and adaptive sports camps will have him in shape for his inaugural race. "I might get last, but I'll finish it," he says.
Most Americans will never forget the date September 11, but for Roman, the day has an eerie significance. On September 11, 2009, while commanding an Army IED vehicle in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb took his legs below his knees.
"The bomb exploded under the vehicle," the 43-year-old married father of two explains. "I don't remember much."
For the next 10 months, his home was Walter Reed, the Washington DC hospital that has treated America's war-wounded for more than a century.
"In therapy, I was very active because I'm an outdoors kind of guy," says Roman. "There was a hand cycle at Walter Reed and I got into it and like it. I liked it because it was not easy. It takes a lot of effort. "
It was also at Walter Reed where Roman was contacted by Achilles vice president Mary Bryant and asked to be a part of the organization.
"It gives me a purpose," says Roman, whose Miami-resident aunts, uncles and cousins will cheer him on as he "pedals" through the 26.2-mile race. "It's like a wonderful marriage."
The native Colombian is participating in his eighth marathon, and he's looking to move to the next level after finishing 11th in the Palm Beach Marathon in December. "I want to compete nationally or in the Olympics," he says. "I'm improving more and training more. My time keeps getting lower- I'm under two hours."
Getting to the starting line has been the challenge for these Wounded Warriors and their Achilles International teammates who will line up with them in the ING Miami Marathon. For all of them, the finish line is just another small challenge along the way.
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