Illinois man who was once paralyzed from the neck down finishes his 20th marathon

The 2017 Chicago Marathon.
(Image credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Hours after the winner crossed the finish line, the last spectator went home, and the sun had set, Alan Robinson completed the Chicago Marathon.

It was Robinson's 20th marathon since a car accident in 1991 left him paralyzed from the neck down. "I was not supposed to be able to stand up," he told ABC 7. After putting in grueling work at a rehabilitation center, Robinson was able to slowly walk again and even started to run. It's been dangerous for him, though — Robinson said he's been run over, pushed, and even mugged while on his runs.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.