MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Proving the doctors wrong: after a devastating accident, doctors doubted a Mid-South man would ever run again. Austin Selby proved them wrong, and Saturday he runs his first marathon since that accident, nearly 2 years ago.
"No doubt, I was going to figure it out. If they had to chop it off and put on a prosthetic, I was going to figure it out," Selby said.
Selby is a runner. He's been running since 6th grade. He was running in December 2010 when a distracted driver plowed into him. His injuries were severe.
"Laying on the sidewalk, I became very resolute that I was going to get over this," Selby said. "It is scary, but I look at where I am at now and it is not like a terrifying thing in my mind at all."
Five surgeries later, Selby started training with an eye towards running his first marathon in New York earlier this month. Superstorm Sandy canceled those plans.
Instead, his first race is the St. Jude Marathon on December 1. The route takes him by where he was hit.
"It is the part of the race where you start to feel pretty trashy sometimes, and all I have to is remember what I overcame, and it will probably give me some motivation to keep plugging," he said.
"There can be hope, and things can be overcome, and hopefully, that is something people can get from my experience," he said.
Selby isn't just running, he's going on all in. His best time is 2 hours and 49 minutes. He hopes to run the race in 3 hours.
