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No Feet, No Excuses
This week we are sharing a guest post from a friend, Marilyn Green. She is an amputee and gives us a glimpse into the challenges she faces trying to do what she loves.
My name is Marilyn Green and I’m a below the knee amputee. I was born without my fibula and nine other bones in my leg and therefore had my foot amputated at the age of one. Luckily, I was encouraged to be active and try sports and loved them all. What I didn’t love was running. It hurt! The prosthetics I’ve always had were heavy and the foot wasn’t very flexible so there was just a lot of impact, pressure, rubbing and discomfort associated with running. I would avoid it at all costs. Many sports require running but not constantly. I really loved playing volleyball and skiing. As I’ve gotten older I found that I loved group exercise. My favorite classes were the cardio dance classes. I loved them so much I started choreographing my own routines and eventually got my own classes and became an instructor teaching my own format. I love it!
January of 2018 my brother in law came across an organization called Amputee Blade Runners (ABR). They are a non-profit foundation that makes running blades for kids and adults. Their goal is to have athletes in every state. I decided to apply. One of the requirements was to run three 5Ks. It was hard but my goal was to run them, not walk, and I accomplished it. It hurt, it wasn’t fun, but I did it. Later that year I found out that they wanted to sponsor me and we started the process. Because of my interests we decided a running blade wasn’t the best fit. I needed what they call a Hybrid foot,
one that I could exercise, play volleyball, run, hike and do all the things I love. Maybe a running blade will come later as I learn to love it more.
My husband and I flew out to Savannah, Georgia where Ryan Fann, co-founder of ABR worked on fitting me for a new athletic prosthesis. Fillauer made a new foot for me to try with Ryan’s ideas. And let me tell you, I never knew what I was missing for 35 years. My life has dramatically changed because of their talent and willingness to help me. This new foot has more flex and spring, which allows me to run pain free! I ran the Sawtooth Relay with my Shine team in Stanley, Idaho and will be running the Ragnar Relay in Nashville, Tennessee with an ABR team. It has opened up so much for me and I’m forever grateful that I get to run and do the things I love with more ability. Their slogan is “Run Free” and “No Feet, No Excuses.” These are amazing people, changing lives everyday. They changed mine.
January of 2018 my brother in law came across an organization called Amputee Blade Runners (ABR). They are a non-profit foundation that makes running blades for kids and adults. Their goal is to have athletes in every state. I decided to apply. One of the requirements was to run three 5Ks. It was hard but my goal was to run them, not walk, and I accomplished it. It hurt, it wasn’t fun, but I did it. Later that year I found out that they wanted to sponsor me and we started the process. Because of my interests we decided a running blade wasn’t the best fit. I needed what they call a Hybrid foot, one that I could exercise, play volleyball, run, hike and do all the things I love. Maybe a running blade will come later as I learn to love it more.
My husband and I flew out to Savannah, Georgia where Ryan Fann, co-founder of ABR worked on fitting me for a new athletic prosthesis. Fillauer made a new foot for me to try with Ryan’s ideas. And let me tell you, I never knew what I was missing for 35 years. My life has dramatically changed because of their talent and willingness to help me. This new foot has more flex and spring, which allows me to run pain free! I ran the Sawtooth Relay with my Shine team in Stanley, Idaho and will be running the Ragnar Relay in Nashville, Tennessee with an ABR team. It has opened up so much for me and I’m forever grateful that I get to run and do the things I love with more ability. Their slogan is “Run Free” and “No Feet, No Excuses.” These are amazing people, changing lives everyday. They changed mine.
“I’m forever grateful that I get to run and do the things I love with more ability.”
“No Feet, No Excuses.”
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