It took Keith Zeier more than 31 hours, but on May 16, he completed a 100-mile ultramarathon race. It would have been a remarkable feat of strength, grit and endurance for an athlete in peak condition. But less than three years earlier, doctors had told Zeier he would walk with a cane for the rest of his life.
Growing up on Long Island, Zeier starred in soccer in high school and garnered sports scholarships to several Division 1 colleges. But the events of September 11, 2001 caused him to rethink his plans. “My best friend’s dad, Lieutenant John Crisci, died that day,” he recalls. “He’d been like a father to me, and because he was a firefighter, I was inspired to go into the military.” Zeier joined the Special Operations Command of the U.S. Marine Corps and was eventually deployed to Iraq.
On July 17, 2006, a military vehicle in which he was riding was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED). Shrapnel ripped through Zeier’s left leg, destroying muscles, arteries, bone and nerves. By the time he was well enough to return to the States, he’d undergone three surgeries.
Fighting through the pain
Over the next year and a half, Zeier progressed from a wheelchair to crutches to a cane. His brother, a physical therapist, worked with him every day. “I decided to do whatever I had to do and to fight through the pain,” he says. “I was determined not to listen to people who said, ‘Well, this is the way it has to be.’”
He also decided to get on with his life. Despite his injuries, he attended community college on Long Island for a semester and planned to become a firefighter. But budget constraints meant that fire departments weren’t hiring. So Zeier moved to Brooklyn to be near friends and enrolled in BMCC, where he is pursuing a degree in nursing—an homage to the nurses who cared for him in the U.S. and the Middle East. “For the first time in my life, I realized what an incredible difference a nurse can make in a patient’s care, well-being and morale,” he says.
Today, Zeier remains in constant pain and the aftereffects of head trauma; by his own account, has no feeling in his left leg above the knee. But as the sun rose on May 16, he was in Key Largo, Florida, for the start of the grueling Keys100 Ultramarathon.
Zeier was there to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college scholarships to the children of Special Operations personnel killed in combat, as well as financial assistance to families of wounded service personnel enabling them to visit to their loved ones during their recovery.
“When I was wounded, the Foundation gave my mom the money she needed to come see me,” he says. “And it helped a number of my friends in the same way. The Foundation means a lot to me.”
A team effort
There were no aid stations along the course, so Zeier enlisted seven friends to fly with him to Florida and accompany him in a van from Key Largo to the finish line in Key West. “They kept me supplied with water and food and whatever else I needed,” he says. “They also ran with me at various points to help me maintain my pace.” Zeier and his team also produced a video chronicling his remarkable journey. All told, he raised more than $46,000.
Zeier’s participation in the Keys100 was personally meaningful to him on many levels. “Being in the military is all I ever wanted to do,” he says. “I loved everything about it, and if I hadn’t been hurt, I would have stayed for another 20 years.” Instead, he was forced to leave after a bit more than a year, without having gained a real sense of fulfillment. “But competing in this race and raising money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has made me feel good again—as though I’m back with my buddies.” Many families of fallen service personnel, including those Zeier knew personally, have thanked him for his efforts.
“Knowing that I’ve helped gives me chills,” he says. “And it gives me motivation to keep going.”
Click here to view The Daily News coverage on Keith Zeier.
