BOSTON – Micah Herndon proved that you never give up, no matter what, by crawling on his hands and knees to the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday.
Herndon, of Tallmadge, Ohio, competed in the marathon as a tribute to the memories of three men he knew while he served as a Marine in Afghanistan. He told the Record-Courier in Portage County, Ohio, that whenever he felt like giving up he just repeated their names: Mark Juarez, Matthew Ballard and Rupert Hamer.
“I run in honor of them,” Herndon told the Record-Courier. “They are not here anymore. I am here, and I am able. I am lucky to still have all my limbs. I can still be active. I find fuel in the simple idea that I can run. Some cannot.”
Herndon crossed the finish line with a time of three hours and 38 minutes to complete the 26.2 miles. CNN affiliate WBZ said once he was over the yellow and blue line he was lifted into a wheelchair and given medical attention.
He wore the last names of his comrades on tags on his running shoes and written on his hand.
“I feel like if I am not running, then I am doing something wrong with my life,” Herndon told the Record-Courier. “If I get a heat cramp while running or my feet hurt or I am getting exhausted, I just keep saying their names out loud to myself. They went through much worse, so I run for them and their families.”