Brandon LaBella Just Broke A World Record On BW Crutches At The NYC Marathon
This past Monday, I was granted the opportunity to interview a recent NYC Marathon runner. The most inspiring part about the conversation? His relentlessness.
People traveled from across the globe last week to be a part of the largest marathon in the world: the New York City Marathon. This race broke a record last year with more than 51,000 runners. This year more than 98,000 applied and of those selected, was Brandon LaBella.
Graduating from The College of William and Mary in December, Brandon has traveled to 35 countries across six continents in the past three years. Brandon was moved by the people he met and the lack of education he witnessed throughout his travels. When an opportunity arose to be able to raise money for an educational charity called Pencils of Promise, which provides quality access of education to children in Ghana, Guatemala, and Laos, he immediately got involved.
Brandon spent months of training and fundraising to prepare for the big race. But just 10 days before the race, Brandon sprained his MCL and ACL during an indoor soccer game.
“I was devastated by the news,” said Brandon. “I was worried about the charity and the money I had raised. I was determined to figure out a way to finish the race but had no idea how.”
Brandon asked his doctor if he could race on crutches. His doctor approved so Brandon set off to find crutches that could help him through a grueling 26.2 miles.
A close friend of his recommended our crutches. He reached out to us a few weeks before the event to ask about the design and see if they could help him through the race. We were honestly so moved and inspired by what he was doing, that we couldn’t help but send him a pair for free.
As soon as Brandon got the crutches he started practicing. He was able to sprint and move freely, but the idea of finishing all 26.2 miles was daunting. He figured he would get through a couple miles before having to drop out.
But that didn’t happen.
Here’s Brandon’s account of the day:
“To be honest, I was unbelievably nervous and wondering why in the world had I decided to run a marathon with crutches. But as soon as I stepped toward the starting line, everyone turned to encourage me. They saw me on my crutches and kept telling me how inspirational it was, and that I shouldn’t give up. I started to feel less nervous and more energized — I started thinking maybe I could do this.”
“During the first mile I had no idea how I would finish, but encouragement kept pouring in. By Mile 4 my adrenaline had kicked in and I began thinking about the world record….maybe I could beat it? At Mile 9 a friend came to cheer me on — that energy carried me through Mile 17. I then saw my parents which carried me another few miles. At Mile 25 I was physically and mentally exhausted, but I wasn’t coming this far without a World Record. The crutches were working and I was still moving, so I put on my David Goggins goggles and gave it my best shot.”
As the finish line drew closer Brandon was in total disbelief. He realized the record was in sight.
“When I passed that mark, I realized that I beat the World Record by 5 full minutes. I had finished!”
Our crutches lasted all 26.2 miles, over 55,000 steps. Brandon finished the race in 6 hours and 19 minutes breaking the existing World Record for fastest marathon completed on crutches with two legs.
We are overwhelmed and deeply inspired by what Brandon accomplished. He is a true hero and testament to the human spirit. We are just glad we could help him so he could help kids around the world.
Our goal with these crutches was to help people move, to enable them to live freely, and not be inhibited by their injuries or the equipment used to treat them. Our hope is that we can be a part of many more stories like this — of people doing the impossible to help others.
If you want to join Brandon in raising money for Pencils of Promise — check out his fundraising page here. He has already raised $3,300 and looking to keep the fundraising going as long as possible.
And to keep the good news rolling, we will be announcing a new product to help even more people redefine movement soon. Check back in for more details — we cannot wait to share them with you!
