A Chilean miner ran, walked and hobbled his way to the finish line of the New York City Marathon on Sunday, showing the passionate grit that helped him survive more than two months trapped underground.
Edison Pena crossed the Central Park finish line at 3:24 p.m., with a time of 5 hours, 40 minutes, 51 seconds. The Elvis fan was draped in a Chilean flag as Presley songs played over the speakers.
The 34-year-old survivor had beat his own goal – to complete the course through the city's five boroughs in six hours.
Bags of ice covered his swollen knees as a grim-faced Pena walked the second half of the marathon, but he summoned enough energy to run the last stretch along Central Park West.
"In this marathon I struggled," he said. "I struggled with myself, I struggled with my own pain, but I made it to the finish line. I want to motivate other people to also find the courage and strength to transcend their own pain."
Pena's personal victory came just weeks after he was still training in near-darkness, jogging 6 or 7 miles each day 2,300 feet underground in stifling heat and humidity. He and 32 other men survived 69 days in the caved-in mine before they were rescued last month.
He said running was his salvation – his way of proving how much he wanted to live.
On this sunny day in Manhattan, the strong will that kept him focused came shining through.
It didn't seem to matter to the world whether No. 7127 actually finished the race running into Central Park – or ended his first marathon barely making it.
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