After 40 ft. fall, Utah man on track for Ogden Marathon

By Chris Arnold

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    FARMINGTON, Utah (KSTU) — Nearly nine months after a Farmington man fell 40 feet off an overpass, he’s now at the starting line for the Ogden Marathon.

Hayden Gurman laced up his sneakers and got in a quick stretch Thursday as he prepared for one final run ahead of this weekend’s marathon.

“I run four days a week,” said Gurman. “From 7 to 10 to 12 miles all through Farmington, through Centerville, Bountiful.”

Gurman originally began training for the marathon on the morning of September 24, but after saying hello to his neighbors and running across the street, the next he remembers is waking up in the hospital.

During his run that took him along a bridge over Interstate 15 on West Glovers Lane, Gurman tried to climb over a barricade to get out of the way of traffic, believing there was a sidewalk on the other side; but there wasn’t, which led to fall 40 feet to the ground below.

“I was in the hospital for 33 days,” said Gurman.

Ten of those days found Gurman in a coma as the fall left him with extensive injuries.

“I broke like eight or nine vertebrae, my pelvis fell apart when I fell at the joints, I lacerated a bunch of organs,” he recalled.

Those lacerated organs included his spleen, liver and kidney. Gurman says he also broke a bunch of ribs in the fall. It took a few months, but his recovery continually progressed.

“I didn’t start walking until November, middle of November, like with a walker, before then I was just crawling around in a wheelchair,” he said. “Around January is when I stopped walking with a cane.”

It was around that time that Gurman decided to finish what he started back.

“It was January 9, that was my first day; I was like, ‘I’m going to do it,'” said Gurman.

Ever since, he has been running and training. His wife, Lisa, and friends such as Spencer Willhite have been right by his side the entire way.

“When I went to see him in the hospital, the day it happened, the day he fell, I was going there to say goodbye,” said Willhite. “It’s been certainly a speedy recovery due to due to his mindset and a miracle might be, you know, not might be, but to me is the perfect word for it.”

Willhite will be one of about 20 people to run alongside Gurman in the marathon, calling themselves ‘Hayden’s Heroes’.

“From a 40-feet fall to a full marathon,” Gurman said as he read off the t-shirts they had made.

For the father of five and seminary teacher at Viewmont High School, he spoke about what will be the most rewarding part of this experience.

“I want to finish, either way, even if I have to be dragged across,” said Gurman, who adds the fall has given him a why for training and taking part in Saturday’s race.

Gurman’s family from Florida, along with his his wife’s family and some of his students will be at the marathon to cheer him on. As for the bridge where he fell, Gurman says he gets excited when crossing it, saying it’s just facing his fears and conquering it.

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