Only 1% of Americans have finished a marathon. Imagine running a marathon after you finish a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride.
Glenn Hartrick is one of the world’s most unique Ironman finishers, and he’s racing again after a crash nearly killed him.
“One of the great things about multi-sport – you get out what you put into it.”
Triathlon was the air in Hartrick’s lungs.
“It was something that just was addicting,” he said.
A month after an elite finish in Ironman Texas, a morning training ride in 2014 changed his life forever.
“Just south of the George Washington Bridge, a driver made an illegal U-turn and hit me. That’s what left me paralyzed from the chest down. I had nine broken ribs, two collapsed lungs, I had blood clots… my mouth was wired shut. My scapula was broken…”
Hartrick spent 30 days in intensive care. They reconstructed his back so brushing his teeth or combing his hair was a win.
“I had nine broken ribs, two collapsed lungs, I had blood clots… my mouth was wired shut. My scapula was broken…”
After being told he would never walk again, he started eyeing a handcycle in the hospital and didn’t throw a pity party.
“I have a quote that I live by… we all have to live life through the windshield and not the rear view mirror. Bad things happen to all of us. We have to find a way to pick up the pieces and move forward.”
Hartrick embraced what most would think is impossible – competing in another Ironman.
“I really changed my mindset immediately on focusing on things that I can do and not the things that I can’t.”
The Challenged Athletes Foundation granted him a handcycle. Suddenly, the man who finished over 200 races before he was injured realized his back was broken – not his spirit.
Three years removed from that devastating crash, Hartrick finished another Ironman – this time as a disabled athlete.
“Talk about anything is possible and perspective. That, to me… is the gold standard of where we change our mindset on what really is possible,” he said.
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