Crawling to the finish line and finishing in 123rd place was Marine veteran Micah Herndon, who was running in remembrance of 3 fallen fellow soldiers he knew when serving as a Marine in Afghanistan. As he told CBS, his legs locked up around the 22 mile mark, so he began to crawl. Whenever he felt like giving up, he repeated their names: Juarez, Ballard, Hamer; they died from a bomb explosion overseas. He had those names tattooed on his hand and even had little tags on his running shoes with their names. He completed the 26.2 mile race in 3 hours and 38 minutes.

“They are not here anymore. I am here, and I am able. I am lucky to still have all my limbs. I can still be active. I find fuel in the simple idea that I can run. Some cannot,” said Herndon to the Record-Courier. He said his comrades went through so much worse, so he pushed himself to finish for them and their families. As soon as he crossed the yellow and blue finish line, he was assisted into a wheelchair and given medical attention. Micah Herndon sacrificed his strength and body for Matthew Ballard, Mark Juarez, and Rupert Hamer.