Linda Down
Linda Down is a girl born with cerebral palsy. She completed the 26.2 mile 1982 New York Marathon on crutches, because of her lack of motor coordination as well as muscle spasticity. President Reagan invited her to the White House. She completed her first marathon in under 11 hours. Since that time she has done many more marathons.

Daniella Zahner
World class skier who was hoping to represent Switzerland in the Olympics. She had a car accident that left her legs seriously injured. She then began to run with crutches, and with the aid of them completed the 1991 NY city marathon in 4:13.

Jeffrey Dutton

Jeffrey Dutton, '86, '91, chief psychiatry resident at UW Medical Ctr, died Dec. 24, 1994. He was 39. Dutton was profiled in the December 1991 Columns in an article titled "Marathon Man." At age 19, he suffered from a chronic obstruction in his digestive system that halted his body's ability to absorb food. He had 20 feet of his intestines removed surgically. He never ate food for nutrition again. Instead, he obtained all his nutrition from fluid that was pumped into his body through a shunt—an "artificial gut" that was invented elsewhere but refined at the UW for home use. Despite his condition, Dutton ran in the 1985 New York Marathon and later in races in Poland and Russia. He said "If I can run the NY city marathon, I can get through medical school". He applied to medical school and in June 1991 completed his medical studies.

Michael Keohane
He was born with a congenital disability; he has no left forearm or hand. Nevertheless, he says "I played any sport I could ifnd," and he took up golf after meeting a one-armed golfer. He played soccer for nine years and in high school began running. Keohane ran his first marathon at age 22, recording a time of 2:30. Three years later, he ran 2:16:20.

Source: "The New York Runners Club:The Complete Guide to Running, Fred Lebow, Gloria Averbuch, and friends."