by Madison V. Fisler
Sept. 19, 2013. Frye Regional Medical Center, located in Hickory, will host the third annual Do the Unthinkable 5K Run/Walk on Sept. 21 beginning at 8 a.m.
The event is inspired by Scott Rigsby, who is a two-time Hawaiian Iron Man finisher, triathlete, and also happens to be a double amputee.
Rigsby’s story, from losing his legs to being named Iron Man, is an inspiration to generations. He supports a message of overcoming obstacles and pushing past our perceived limits.
Scott Rigsby lost both of his legs in a tragic accident when he was 18 years old. Years later, he decided that if God opened a door for him, he would run through it.
“After my accident I saw a lot of our service members coming back from war with many disabilities including lost limbs,” said Rigsby.
“I had experienced all of those things and I wanted to do something to help them out. I wasn’t really sure what to do. I walked into a bookstore after I had given this Hail Mary prayer to God asking him to open a door for me to run through. I saw a magazine with an article about the Iron Man and I just felt like this was what I was created to do. I began to get the right people around me, I began to let go of my fears and hold on to my belief that I was playing a role in a bigger story, and all of the obstacles just led me closer to my finish line.”
Rigsby believes that the Iron man was not an end in itself, but a means to a larger end.
Within a year and eight months, Rigsby had finished his first Iron Man race in less than 17 hours. This gave him a platform to start the Scott Rigsby Foundation in 2008 with the objective of helping physically challenged kids and athletes, promoting prosthetics research, and starting Wounded Warrior Family Retreats camps where families would be brought in from military bases for counseling to wounded warriors, their spouses and children.
“Tragedy doesn’t happen to an individual, it happens to a family, a community,” Rigsby said. “We wanted to help rebuild families.”
In 2011, to raise awareness for his foundation, he completed the Iron Man again. Three weeks before his second Iron Man Race, the first Do The Unthinkable 5K Run/Walk was held in Hickory.
In two years, the event has raised close to $30,000 for the foundation which helps to fund the camps for the soldiers and their families.
“Frye Medical has been a wonderful partner,” said Rigsby. “We couldn’t have done this without their support. They’ve really validated what we are trying to do here. They not only want to promote health and wellness throughout the community, they also have a heart for our warriors and their families.”
Frye Regional Medical Center is proud to host this event once again, as it runs alongside their overall mission of promoting wellness and empowering oneself.
Proceeds from this event will benefit the Scott Rigsby Foundation to help wounded warriors and their families.
Registration for this event is now closed. Packet pick-up for those registered is Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. in the Fleet Feet Sports in Hickory.
For more information on this event, click here.
Finally, he went on to earn the title of Iron Man in Hawaii. To see more of his story, check out the video below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sB6AdcQD8E[/youtube]
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