As Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" croons over the loudspeakers to initiate the beginning of this Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon, Dennis McGorty will be vying in his first marathon ever.
According to CBS news, Mcgorty said that he has never ran more than 3 miles in his lifetime before. Despite being a 45-year-old builder and father of two from Westfield, New Jersey, McGorty is a former world-class collegiate decathlete at the University of North Carolina.
The 45-year old McGorty was also a cyclist enthusiast until the accident on May 2013 happened, which led to a life-changing spinal injury and the loss of the use of his legs.
McGorty joined the marathon -- which garnered more than 50,000 runners in the previous year -- as a hand cyclist. Although he hasn't run more than three miles on foot, he has been practicing for the race for almost 12 weeks already and has hand cycled up to 17 miles, nine miles less than the marathon's entire length of 26.2 miles.
Dennis McGorty joined the race as member of Team Reeve for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which raises funds to support studies and people with paralysis. In this year's New York City Marathon, Team Reeve was proud to have been joined by its 65 members.
Meanwhile, Dick Traum, McGorty's fellow hand cyclist, who turns 75 years old this November, has also earned his 25th New York City Marathon.
In 1976, Traum vied for his first race as the competition's first above-the-knee amputee. He was running with an artificial leg and was the first amputee in the world to compete in a marathon on an artificial leg.
And in 1983, Traum established the Achilles Track Club, currently known as Achilles International, a non-profit institution that gives athletes with impairment with a group of support. Over the years, Achilles has also achieved specialized programs for war veterans and children.
As per CBS News, Dennis Mcgorty finished the race with a time record of 1 hour and 43 minutes while Dick Traum ended in 2 hours 4 minutes and 8 seconds.
