|
C.J. Howard holds the Half-Marathon World Record of 1:21:46 For Below Knee Amputees
Howard discovered running at the age of 13 when approached by his Middle
School physical education coach to compete in an informal inner district track
meet. CJ opted to run the 400 and it was not long until he discovered that he
was better suited for distance running. Several months later he was
approached by a member of his high school’s cross-country team to join the team. He
accepted and began to excel immediately. By the conclusion of his high school
career he lead his team to a 12th place CIF div. 1 finish and won his league
’s 3200 meter title with a time of 9:41. His performances were good enough
to gain the attention of several Universities in the country and he was
successfully recruited by Vince O’Boyle of UC Irvine to compete for the Anteaters.
Once at UCI CJ made tremendous strides forward recording 8k and 10k PRs of
26:30 and 33:00 even during his freshman cross-country season. Unfortunately
CJ never ran track for the Anteaters as on December 23rd 2002 what was
believed to be a nagging running injury turned out to be osteogenic sarcoma (bone
cancer). The tumor that affected his left calcaneous (heel bone) required 9
months of chemotherapy, several years of follow-up therapy, and forced the
amputation of his left foot several inches below the knee in April of 2003. CJ
was not deterred and the moment his treatment concluded in Nov. 03 he set his
sights on the national leg amputee half marathon championships. A year
later he did more than anyone would have ever expected, he not only finished but
he won against an international field in a world record time of 1:23:59.
Since then CJ has continued to improve and garnered recognition and acclaim from
the running community for his unrelenting competitive spirit. CJ also has
developed an appreciation for triathlon as he competed in the Lake Arrowhead
Triathlon (August ’06). CJ’s future plans include being the first amputee to
break the THREE-hour mark for the full-marathon in early 2007.
Career Highlights & PRs:
Half Marathon:1:21:46(WR*) Santa Clarita Marathon 2006
(*WR: World Record for below knee amputees)
10K: 38:00 Santa Monica 10k 2006
5k: 17:57 Kickin' Cancer 5k (L.A) 2006
2004 & 2006 National Leg Amputee Half-Marathon Champion.
2004 Athens Olympic torch Bearer
Amputee Racing History:
2003 December 19 1600 Meter, 6:14. Santa Monica HS All-Comers Track meet
January 31st 5000 Meter. 22:30. San Diego New Years Resolution 5k
2004 January 17 5000 Meter. 20:07, 4th age group, 32nd overall. Night Race 5k.
February 1st 1600 Meter. 5:54. Huntington Beach HS All-Comers Track meet.
February 21st. 5000 Meter. 19:21. 4th age group, 42nd overall. Los Alamitos Race on the Base 5k.
March 14th 5000 Meter. 19:01. 4th age group, 24th overall. St. Patrick’s day 5k.
March 19th 1600 Meter. 5:28. Occidental Track and Field Invitational
March 28th 5000 Meter. 18:54. Carlsbad 5000
April 3rd 5000 Meter. 18:36. 14th age group, 42nd overall, National Below Knee Leg amputee record. Santa Anita Derby Days 5k
April 10th 1500 Meter. 5:01. 2nd fasted 1500 in the world to date for the year 2004 by a leg amputee
August 28th 10,000 Meter. 38:25. 4th age group, 18th overall. Jet to Jetty 10k.
October 17th 25 Mile Charity Bike Ride. Lance Armstrong Foundation Ride for the Roses.
November 7th 5000 Meter. 18:08, 4th age group, 11th overall. My fastest 5k ever, LAS&F Invitational.
November 14th Half-Marathon. 1:23:59. National & world record by 6 minutes. Ossur National Leg Amputee Champion. Silver Strand Half Marathon.
2005 June 26th 5 Mile. 33:41. 21st overall, 1st Leg amputee. Hope and Possibility 5 Mile Run Central Park.
2006 March 19th 5000 Meter. 18:14. 5th age group, 20th overall. Deena Kastor 5k.
July 6th Aquathlon (1k ocean swim, 5k run). 33rd overall, split 18:10 for 5k. Play Del Run Thursday #2.
August 19th Sprint Triathlong (600 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run). 65 minutes. 1st challenged athlete. 7th fastest run time. Lake Arrowhead Triathlon.
September 10th 5000 Meter. 17:56. 3rd age group, 10th overall. Kickin Cancer 5k.
October 22nd 10,000 Meter. 38:00. 3rd age group, 24th overall. St. John’s Santa Monica 10,000
November 5th Half-Marathon. 1:21:46. 3rd age group, 13th overall, New world record. Santa Clarita Half Marathon.
Novermber 19th Half-Marathon. 1:23:14. 1st age group, 16th overall, Ossur National Leg Amputee Champion. Silver Strand Half Marathon.
Comment on this story.
Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest
|
|
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
