MANISTEE, Mich. – A Michigan emergency medical services worker was celebrating Thursday after completing an ultra-marathon earlier this week only six months after a horrific car wreck left him with a shattered jaw that doctors had to wire shut, The Greenville Daily News reported.
Brandon Mulnix, 32, completed the 50-mile North Country Trail Run in Manistee National Forest in north-central Michigan Saturday in 12 hours and 29 minutes with his jaw wired shut.
In February, Munix, along with two others, was severely injured in a car accident caused by icy roads. Another driver lost control of his car and crossed into the center of the road, ending in a devastating collision with Mulnix's vehicle.
Mulnix shattered his jaw in the wreck -- an injury that required major surgery. To speed along the recovery process, doctors wired shut Mulnix's jaw on August 17, only days before Saturday's race.
"As an experienced ultra-marathon runner I wanted to challenge the community by doing something extreme," he told The Daily News. "Last year at this race I had to quit at 25 miles into the race due to overheating. The chances of me finishing this year were even less, but I like a challenge."
Mulnix said it was the race's charitable efforts that encouraged him to run hurt.
"The motivating factor was the 60-plus people that pledged support to the local food pantries," he said. "We raised one food item for every mile so more than 3,000 non-perishable food items will be donated to communities across Michigan and as far away as Texas. I couldn't let people go hungry just because I was hurting."
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