NJ Athlete Is 1st Double Amputee To Finish This Grueling Ultramarathon

MONTCLAIR, NJ — For three years, Brian Reynolds returned to the same mountain, chasing the same finish line each time as he took on one of the toughest ultramarathons in the nation: the Leadville Trail 100. The iconic race takes competitors on a high-elevation trek through the heart of the Rocky Mountains, which maxes out at an eye-boggling 12,500 feet above sea level. It is an infamously grueling endeavor, fraught with rocky terrain and unpredictable mountain weather – not to mention the many challenges that come with extreme elevation.

He didn’t succeed.

Undaunted by the setbacks and resilient of spirit, the North Jersey resident returned to Colorado this summer for another attempt at reaching the finish line. And this time, he kicked its butt.

For Reynolds, a double amputee who lost both his legs below the knee when he was 4-years-old after contracting a bacterial blood infection, it was just the latest chapter in a long history of gutsy athletic performances.

The Garden State resident’s fitness journey began when he was 12 or 13-years-old, and his mother started bringing him to the gym with her. He eventually got into powerlifting, adapting his routine to the challenges of lifting weights with prosthetic legs – and deadlifting 485 at 132 pounds, Men’s Health reported.

Soon, Reynolds took up running, breaking the double below-the-knee amputee world marathon record during the 2017 Chicago Marathon and representing the United States in the 2018 World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup.

The inspiring athlete has continued to put himself to the test, eventually setting his sights on the Leadville Trail. It wasn’t an easy goal: it took Reynolds four tries before he reached the finish line.

But on Aug. 22, the training and dedication finally paid off with a big bragging right: Reynolds is now the first double amputee to ever finish the 100-mile test of endurance.

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According to Reynolds, the hardest part wasn’t the race itself – it was everything that came before it.

Learning how to run as a double amputee. Learning how to adapt when something didn’t work. Learning how to build… rebuild… fail… adjust… and keep moving forward. It was three years of disappointment and doubt – and lessons he wouldn’t trade for anything, Reynolds said.

“Standing here now, I realize the finish line was never really the point,” he reflected. “The real gift was the journey. It taught me that obstacles don’t always need to be overcome all at once. Sometimes you just have to figure out the next step. Then the next one. And the next.”

The journey also gave Reynolds something he never expected, he said: a community.

“Somewhere along the way, this stopped being just my race – it became ‘our’ race,” he said. “The people who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. The people who showed up, sent messages, shared miles, built blades, carried gear, cheered from the side of the road, and refused to let me quit.”

“I am so incredibly grateful,” he said.

Reynolds, 38, told Patch that he spent a lot of time at Garret Mountain and Brookdale Park while training for the grueling race. He also made trips out to Mount Tammany in the Delaware Water Gap when he was searching for terrain that was bigger and more challenging.

Locally, Reynolds suggested that hikers and runners in search of a challenge should check out Eagle Rock Reservation and Mills Reservation.

“Both are great spots to get outside and get a good run or hike in without having to go too far,” Reynolds said.

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