Runner With Parkinson’s Bangs Out 351 Burpees on Way to Finishing Chicago Marathon – Runner’s World

At every mile marker of the 2019 Chicago Marathon, Jimmy Choi dropped to the ground for a burpee—complete with push-up—and then jumped back up on his feet before he got back to running.

For each mile marker on the course, he did that same number of burpees—from one on the first mile to 10 on the 10th, all the way up to 26 on the 26th mile—adding another hard effort to the already grueling marathon distance.

By the time Choi, 43, reached the finish line in 5:56:03, he had completed a total of 351 burpees in addition to running 26.2 miles on the streets of the Windy City.

The burpee run was the latest in a series of impressive physical challenges that the three-time American Ninja Warrior contestant takes on to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

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During Sunday’s race, Choi and the members of Team Fox raised a total of $278,031 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The performance was another inspiring accomplishment on Choi’s journey as he combats a disorder that attacks the nervous system and affects movement.

“One of the goals that I do in anything that I take on, whether it’s American Ninja Warrior or it’s running a marathon, every time I have a chance, I want to tell people to keep moving and to keep fighting along, no matter what type of adversities they have,” Choi told Runner’s World. “That’s the message that I want to keep pushing forward.”

Choi was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003 at the age of 27. As a young father of two kids, he was devastated to learn that he had a disease with no cure. For the next eight years, his condition progressed, and eventually Choi had to walk with a cane.

In 2010, he weighed 250 pounds as a result of inactivity. Then, one misstep encouraged him to make a change.

“I fell down the stairs with my infant son (Mason) at the time,” Choi said. “That jolted me to action, and I knew I had to do something. I was too young to put my kids in danger just by holding them. That was not an option. So that’s when I started using fitness to combat Parkinson’s.”

According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, exercise can improve many of the disease’s symptoms and help patients maintain balance, mobility, and activities of daily living. The Parkinson’s Outcomes Project study showed that people with Parkinson’s who start exercising earlier and a minimum of two and a half hours a week experience a slowed decline in quality of life compared to those that start doing physical activity later.

Choi started slowly, going for walks around the block in his neighborhood which eventually progressed into runs. Over time, Choi got stronger and his mobility began to improve to the point where he no longer needed a cane.

His first marathon at Chicago in 2012 was the first race he completed for charity. That year, he received the last bib available to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

“I always felt that that bib was meant for me,” Choi said. “And then after that marathon, I just didn’t stop. I just kept going.”

Since 2012, he has completed over 100 half marathons, 16 marathons, and one ultramarathon. He even started his own race, the Shake It Off 5K to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s research.

While Choi was building his endurance, he was also focused on getting stronger, too. On his social media account, he shares many of his physical feats, like 30 days of planks and 30 days of the Murph Challenge (one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and one-mile run).

Each exercise he chooses plays a role in helping his fight against the disease. Burpees, for instance, helps him learn to brace himself in the event of a fall, something that can happen with miscommunication between his brain and his muscles.

“I can also have the strength to get back up if I train with burpees,” he said.

His inspiring strength helped gain him entry into American Ninja Warrior, a show where athletes tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses. His daughter, Karina, dared him to try out for the show, and he’s competed in it for three seasons.

While Choi tackled every obstacle until the end of the wheel flip at the 2018 American Ninja Warrior Indianapolis City Qualifiers, he still felt gassed leading into the final mile markers of Chicago. But for Choi, the intense burn in his legs and arms was worth worth it.

“For me, quitting was not an option,” Choi said. “Even though it got hard, I had to push through. And it wasn’t just for me; it was for others that were watching along the way.”

Not only were they watching him, but they were moved by his challenge. One runner even stopped to say that watching him do burpees gave him something to look forward to and motivated him to continue the race, which is exactly what Choi hopes to achieve.

“We always encourage other people to move, whether or not they’re healthy, able-bodied or people living with Parkinson’s,” he said. “If you make your body stronger, you make your body more fit. The only thing that it can do for you is good.”

Taylor Dutch is a freelance writer living in Chicago.