Combat veteran runs in Birmingham’s final Mercedes-Benz Marathon with the hope to continue to inspire

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - As long as Randy Woodward can remember, he’s been running.

The Nashville native survived a combat injury while serving in Iraq and was told he would never be able to run again. After nine months of rehab Woodward chose to not run from his struggles and found a way to overcome what some said wasn’t possible.

“In my head it was a great feeling, but my body hated me,” Woodward said.

Woodward ran in the final Mercedes-Benz Marathon in Birmingham, which marked his 68th full marathon since his injury. He does it all while carrying a 12-foot pole with the American flag.

Despite the pain, Woodward’s hope is to inspire. He knows that no matter how you might feel, or what you may think, we all have our struggles. He just hopes that others don’t give up just like he continued to persevere.

“There’s a lot of people struggling,” Woodward said. “A lot of people think they bit off more than they can chew and it’s like, ‘No, you’re doing good, let’s keep moving.’”

Woodward’s goal is to complete a marathon in all 50 states with 40 already crossed off the list. But even when he reaches all 50, he plans on running 100 total marathons with 32 more to go.

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