Man born without arms or legs participates in marathon

LOUISVILLE, KY - Seneca Park sees a lot of interesting training regimens, but nothing like this one: Chris Koch on a training run.

He was born without legs or arms.

"I get a lot of "that"s awesome," thumbs up and stuff like that," Koch said as he did laps around Seneca Park on a skateboard, propelled by pushing with a short section of his right leg. This isn"t some stunt. He did a 26-mile marathon this way in 4 hours 23 minutes.

"Right now it"s a lot more hot and humid than when I did the marathon," he said.

You don"t get to be Chris Koch by being coddled as a child.

"My parents took a very, pun intended, hands-off approach to how they raised me," he said. "Joking aside, mom and dad said it was difficult to stand aside and watch me struggle, but they knew early on I needed to figure things out."

Koch is a motivational speaker. He is in town for the Jill"s Wish Fighter Fun Run. Jill Conley passed away in February. She gained nationwide notoriety for her vocal and honest way of dealing with breast cancer.

"Why wear a prosthetic in a photo shoot when I don"t wear it in real life,” she said in a video on her race website.

Koch doesn"t wear prosthetics either.

"Whether it be breast cancer or born without arms or legs, or whatever situation you find yourself in, especially if it"s cosmetic or physical or appearance, you just have to accept and love where you are, take what others might find an imperfection, wear that as a badge of honor," Koch said.

"He embodies Jill"s tag line: Be confident and proud of who you are," Jill’s husband, Bart Conley, said.

The Jill"s Wish Fighter Fun Run 5K starts at the Ali Center at 8 a.m. Saturday. The entry fees end up helping breast cancer patients make ends meet by paying their bills so they can focus on the important stuff.

source