SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — One of the 33 rescued Chilean miners is going to run in Sunday’s New York City marathon.
Edison Pena has prepared for the big race like no other competitor, running for miles a day in the sweltering darkness of the gold and copper mine where he and 32 other men were trapped for 69 days.
Pena says he ran to clear his head and push away his anxiety. Now he wants to represent his fellow miners in a marathon that gives him a platform to press for worker safety and discuss his religious faith.
He told Associated Press Television News after his rescue that he would have run barefoot if he had to.
As it was, he ran in steel-toed boots, cut off at the ankles, until rescuers managed to lower down a pair of running shoes.
