FDNY Ironman Matt Long,Death's Door & Back

"So after September 11th happened, I had every accessibility to the bottle and... life just got really tough, Matt, it really did." In November of 2005, having become an Ironman just months before, Matt Long finished the New York City Marathon with the 4th fastest time among all NYC Firefighters, qualifying for Boston the following Spring. A month later, he was impaled on his bicycle in Manhattan when he was run over by a bus while forced to ride to work during the New York City Transit Strike. World-renowned surgeons almost pronounced him dead, but Matt was far from done. Confined to a wheelchair for nearly a year, Matt almost gave up. But he not only learned to walk again... he completed the 2008 NYC Marathon and the 2009 Lake Placid Ironman. His comeback story is the quintessential 10,000 "No"s legend, documented by the likes of HBO Real Sports and Runner's World Magazine, among others. Matt received the CBS Arete Award for Courage in Sports and was named one of the World's 25 Fittest Athletes in 2010, 5 years AFTER his accident. He also met his wife and finally has the family he always dreamed of... he is the modern day Rocky Balboa, who has gone the distance. If you like what you hear, please Subscribe, leave an iTunes review and spread the word. You can also listen to all episodes at www.10000nos.com   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.