J.R. Martinez Runs The NYC Marathon For NYRR

This is very cool: this Sunday, Nov 4, United States Army veteran J.R. Martinez (who you probably know from Dancing With The Stars) will be running in the 2012 ING New York City Marathon to support New York Road Runners' Youth Programs. He will be the very last person to start the race, and for every person he passes, Timex will be donating $1 to the charity.

The backstory behind J.R.’s partnership with Timex is especially interesting: back in 2003, while serving in Iraq, he survived a truck explosion during which he suffered burns over 34% of his body. One spot that was saved: his wrist, which was protected by the Timex watch that he was wearing (he later got a tattoo of that very same watch over the spot). J.R. is running with the help of Timex's Ironman Run Trainer GPS (pictured above), which provides real-time pace, distance and heart rate information.

This man is such an inspiration – both for his perseverance and his unfailingly positive attitude, and this marathon is his next step towards bringing his story of survival against some serious odds to others. More information on the marathon and J.R. Martinez's run for NYRR's Youth Programs can be found here.

— Jordan