Shane Keating a broken back didn't stop him of his ability to run

If his pace holds, Shane Keating will run past St. Luke's hospital in downtown Duluth where he had spinal fusion surgery after breaking his back in a 2005 sledding accident. Keating, who could have been paralyzed, runs Grandmas to remind himself that he’s been given a second chance. He'll be nearly 24 miles into Grandma's Marathon, dogged determination more than energy carrying the 36-year-old from Foley, Minn., toward Canal Park. Mentally, Keating will be through the worst of it. You get, oh, 17 miles into a marathon, and you're feeling pretty darn good. Until you realize there are almost 10 left. Practically double digits. Still. But 24 is manageable. Keating ought to be less than 25 minutes from the finish line. Physically, all bets are off. Regardless of the pain inundating his quads and calves, Keating will be flooded with gratitude as he approaches St. Luke's at 10th Avenue East. It was there, 13 years earlier, that the then-St. Scholastica senior underwent spinal-fusion surgery. Keating should be paralyzed from the waist down, his only involvement in a Grandma's race requiring a wheelchair. Here's what the neurosurgeon told Keating's parents, Mary Sue and the late Tom Keating, in January 2005, when a Sunday afternoon of extreme sledding went awry: "Looking at this X-ray, I cannot explain to you why your son can walk. There is no reason he isn't paralyzed. If you believe in miracles, this is one. If you believe in blind luck, your son just hit the Powerball. Twice."

posted Wednesday June 13th