Team 360 athletes compete in the 2nd annual SBY Marathon
SALISBURY, Md. – Hundreds of athletes from all over the region, hit the ground running in Salisbury for the second annual SBY marathon. It’s fair to say that running 26.2 miles is already an impressive accomplishment in itself. But some of Saturday’s competitors took that accomplishment to a whole new level, proving that we are all stronger together.
“We exist to empower and motivate athletes that live differently abled lives,” says Jill Fears, President of Team 360.
Team 360 came out in full force on Saturday, with almost 70 people representing the non-profit that helps anyone and everyone achieve their goals.
“We meet them where they’re at and help them compete the way that they’re ready to compete,” says Fears.
Whether you run on foot, compete in a wheelchair, on a bike or with a jogging stroller the physical and mental challenge is always the same.
The pairs of athletes with Team 360 turned a normally individual sport into an incredible team effort.
“There’s just different relationships that our athletes form with their captains and wingmen that are running with them. And it’s just phenomenal the things that happen out there,” says Fears.
Kevin DiLegge and his Captain Matt Burdette tell us they’ve run a total of 7 marathons together.
“He is a good partner and I’ll take him anywhere he wants me to go,” says DiLegge. And Kevin is constantly motivating Matt to finish races as fast as they can.
“Kevin will tell his captain, he’ll say, ‘red shirt’. And it means that he wants him to pass the guy in front of him in the red shirt,” says Fears.
“The athletes that we have in this group are just amazing people. And the athletes, like Kevin, are very vocal and they’re just as competitive as anybody else out here running the race,” says Burdette.
It’s a competitive spirit that runs deep in every athlete, a drive to be the best you can be.
“We’re all pushing these guys in the race joggers but they motivate us and push us probably more. So sometimes it’s hard to tell who is pushing who,” says Burdette.
If you weren’t impressed already, Matt and Kevin crossed the finish line in just 3 hours, 28 minutes and 7 seconds. To put that into perspective, the first person to finish this year’s marathon came in at 2 hours, 41 minutes and 44 seconds.
Organizers tell 47 ABC that the turnout for next year’s marathon should be even bigger than this year’s.
For more details about the SBY Marathon, including race results, click here.
For more information about Team 360, click here.
