First, congrats to all that participated in the events throughout the 2017. I wanted to share a quick reflection of one of many awesome stories from a recent weekend at Tough Mudder Atlanta.
Some of you have heard me say at the Start line, that one of the things I love about legionnaires is what I see them doing on the course (having goals, achieving them, and helping others achieve theirs), I also see them doing in their community.
A great example of this is team More Heart Than Scars. They celebrated their 4 year anniversary by helping adaptive athletes, Dan Davis (an active duty First Sergeant in the U.S. Army and below the knee amputee), Jesi Stracham (Miss Wheelchair NC 2017), Gregory & Stephanie Bullock (he walks w/forearm crutches from a spinal injury), and Blind Pete (nickname is self-explanatory), complete the Tough Mudder Half course on both Saturday, and Sunday at our 2017 Atlanta Georgia event. A feat the group has performed in over 70 events since it’s conception by it’s founder Zachary Paben. A fellow legionnaire, and adaptive athlete himself, Zachary lost the tips of his fingers on both hands in an incident when he was 10 years old, and has been learning to cope with his injury and PTSD ever since.
A quadriplegic friend introduced him to Tough Mudder, and upon completing his first course with his friend as team Nubs & Stubs, he found a strong sense of camaraderie and adventure similar to what he enjoyed as an Outward Bound instructor, that gave him focus and purpose towards MHTS. More Heart Than Scars has grown into 501(c) (3) organization that assists individuals facing physical and or mental scars/challenges. Zachary says.. “I want to provide a feeling of empathy, care, and support to help others through their healing process.”
He says.. “The moment of seeing the faces of the adaptive athletes I help achieve their goals is a huge inspiration for me.” A moment he shared with his team, and our very own Coach Kyle when they crossed the finish line in Atlanta. You can learn more about “More Heart than Scars” on their Facebook page.
-Sean Corvelle
