Maickel Melamed took 20 hours to complete the 42 kilometer Boston Marathon earlier this week. He came in dead last, crossing the finish line just before 5:00 a.m. on the morning of April 21.
He took almost a day to finish the world famous marathon won by Lelisa Desisa Monday in an astounding 2 hours, nine minutes and 17 seconds.
But by just finishing the world's most famous marathon, the heroic Melamed, a Venezuelan, brought tears to the eyes of his countrymen and won the hearts of Americans. Melamed has muscular dystrophy, a crippling and lifelong disease that makes it difficult for him to stand, let alone walk long distances.
His disease is a hereditary condition marked by progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles. There is no known cure for this disease.
More surprising, this Boston Marathon is the fifth marathon completed by this incredible 39 year-old man. Unfortunately, Melamed said the Boston Marathon was his last.
Melamed told reporters after the race the Boston Marathon holds extra special meaning for him since his parents brought him to Boston as a child so doctors could treat his muscular dystrophy.
"It was tough, the wind, the rain, the distance, the cold, everything today was overcome," he said after the race.
Melamed has finished five marathons: New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo, and now Boston. He said he can't continue to marathons since he's lost too much weight and it's been too tough on him physically.
A loyal crowd of supporters, many of them fellow Venezuelans, stayed with Melamed for all 20 hours. They cheered him on to boost his spirits. When Melamed collapsed into their arms, they'd prop him back up and help him begin again.
As Melamed slowly struggled along the rain soaked route, updates to his Twitter account written in Spanish reported on his progress. One of his final tweets said, "50 meters to go! We are finishing this dream. Thank you to everyone."
Another tweet said, "Today we conquered something impossible, today more than ever we can! Thank you to everyone."
"This is not about Maickel, it's not about Venezuela, it's about the world, and it's about creating a world for peace with the intention of putting humanity first," said one of his supporters.
"The rain, the distance, the cold -- I mean everything today was overcome because when we are a team, the human creativity, the human magic appears every time," said Melamed after finishing the grueling marathon.
Boston Mayor Walsh presented Melamed a finisher's medal at City Hall Tuesday afternoon.