(In the video above, Jamie and Lynn Parks are introduced by Annalyn Parks, their daughter and running companion.)
After she was nearly killed in a car crash in 1987, doctors doubted Lynn Mcgovern would walk again. But Mcgovern, whose brain stem had been damaged, endured seven years of rehabilitation to learn how to walk a short distance--namely, down the aisle to marry Jamie Parks in 1994.
Since then, she has continued to defy expectations by completing more than 170 road races, thanks to her devoted husband, who would rather push Lynn in her wheelchair than run alone.
"I am so lucky Jamie has given me this gift," Lynn says. The 45-year-olds have covered more than 13,000 miles together. Their personal bests, including a 17:35 5-k and a 2:57 marathon, are remarkable, given Jamie's workload (Lynn and the chair weigh 170 pounds).
Jamie, who met Lynn in 1985, started pushing her in races in 1991. "She faces so many challenges, but never complains," says Jamie, a mail carrier in Tinley Park, Illinois. "It makes it hard for me to complain about anything."
At a half-marathon in August, one of the chair's wheels fell off at mile 12. Jamie pushed Lynn on a single wheel for the final mile, finishing in 1:32:11. "We were mad, but then you move on," Jamie says. "We don't take things so seriously as other folks might. Our big picture is much bigger."
UPDATE:
After their recognition in 2007 has RW Heroes, this speedy couple caught the attention of A Step Ahead Prosthetics and Orthotics who offered to design and create a racing chair for Lynn. Aided by the upgraded wheels, the pair competed the 2008 Boston Marathon. Their pre-Beantown preparation and debut was filmed for a documentary featuring Lynn and Jamie called "Marathon Love," which has won several film festival awards. In 2009 and 2010, the pair has spoken at race expos in the U.S. After celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their first race together in July, the couple has run 222 races and covered nearly 18,000 miles.
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