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BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - U.S. Marine Corps veteran Zachary Stinson has come a long way since 2010.
"I was upset, angry, like ‘why me’ kind of stuff, because I didn’t see this as an option," Stinson said Thursday, recalling how he felt after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on deployment in Afghanistan.
He lost both of his legs above the knee, he’s now missing some fingers, and it all happened not long after he’d gotten a call from his wife Tesa, who told him she was pregnant with the couple’s first child back home.
"I was either coming home dead or I was coming home whole. So, coming home half wasn’t what I had envisioned," said Stinson, later adding, "there was no how-to guide for getting blown up."
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As the streets of Arlington and parts of Washington D.C. prepare to be filled with the rhythmic pounding of running shoes, excitement is building for the 48th annual Marine Corps Marathon, set to take place on Sunday, Oct. 29.
That’s when he started down the long road to where he is now.
"I still remember I was in the ICU, and I had an epiphany. I was just like, ‘you know the world is going to keep spinning. So I can either have a horrible attitude and push all of these people away, or I can just put a smile on and find the best in every situation and make the most of it.’"
He eventually tried hand cycling, starting with the Marine Corps Marathon in 2012.
"I was just like, am I even going to be able to do it? Like, how is this going to work? Ended up just, for a first marathon and everything, it was great."
Stinson hasn’t stopped hand cycling since. Among other wins, taking the Boston Marathon hand cycling title earlier this year.
He’ll race in this weekend’s Marine Corps Marathon, which will be special for a couple of reasons. First, he’s raising awareness for the veteran nonprofit Semper Fi & America’s Fund, which helps service members like him.
"I can’t honestly say that I would be the person that’s having this interview without them," Stinson says of The Fund.
Also, Stinson isn’t entering this marathon alone. His wife Tesa will be running it for the first very time, and all these years after that day in Afghanistan, the couple’s not one but two daughters – 12-year-old Olivia and 8-year-old Rylee – will help celebrate just how far the Stinson family has come.
You can find more information about the Semper Fi & America’s Fund here.
Stinson also passed along the following: "For the twelfth consecutive year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation and Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) will partner with Semper Fi & America’s Fund in the Double Down for Veterans Match Campaign. Through the end of the year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, with support from PXG, will match every donation made to The Fund dollar-for-dollar up to $10 million."