The King for a Day: Pena Finishes Marathon

"There's ordinary. And there's extraordinary."

That from the race director of the New York City Marathon. That to describe the performance of Edison Pena, the Chilean miner who went from being on of 33 people trapped deep underground for 69 days to being one of 40,000 people who ran through the famous city's famous five boroughs. That to describe the amazing accomplishment of this man who, while trapped underground ran to stay sane, and who rose to the challenge of completing a marathon having only ever run 10 miles at a stretch.

He did it, with the same blend of determination and faith that inspired him to keep hope alive not only for himself but also for all of the others who were moored helpless deep in the earth until help could arrive, buoyed by one another and, in some cases, by Pena's performances of his beloved Elvis.

He was at first invited to be a spectator or even hold the finish tape as the winner crossed, but Pena wanted to do the race himself. A knee injury didn't stop him. The thousands of people around him didn't stop him. In fact, he took courage and encouragement from the athletes around him and the masses of spectators along the race course.

He made it halfway running on that injured knee (an injury sustained before the mine collapse), then needed ice packs from the medical tent. After a respectable 2:07 over 13.1 miles, he hobbled through the last several miles, cramping up in the last few (a normal occurrence in a marathon, truth be told) and finished in 5:40.51, ramping it up to a run at the end as his body soared with cheers-induced adrenalin.

His reward for finishing — along with the tremendous feeling of accomplishment and the cheers of the throngs of New York — was hearing his favorite artist over the loudspeakers at the finish line. The song of choice was "The Wonder of You."

It wasn't like he was totally unprepared. He did run while in the mine, every day, a couple of times a day. He had competed in a triathlon a couple of weeks before, running on a relay team. But 26.2 miles was a big ask.

And Pena answered.