He suffered a life-changing brain injury. Now he’s running the Boston Marathon.

Du Park was in a bike accident in May 2024. He's running for Spaulding where he "first felt hope and joy again."

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March 27, 2025

2 minutes to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.

Name: Du Park
Age: 33
From: Norwood, Mass.

I was in a bike accident in May 2024 and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. I was found unconscious on the side of the road by a police officer, a presumed hit-and-run. I was rushed to Beth Israel, where I was in an induced coma for four weeks on a ventilator. After a month, they were able to take me off sedation, and I started to wake up. At first, I didn’t recognize where I was or who my wife was. But one day, my mind returned, and I began to recover.

The hospital staff started to consult my wife about rehab options, and they had an inpatient rehab bed available somewhere out of state. My wife said, “He’s not going anywhere unless it’s Spaulding.” She knew it was the best place in the nation for TBI patients. The next day, they found an available bed at Spaulding in Charlestown.

At Spaulding, my PT worked with me every day to help me regain the ability to walk safely. I had significant memory loss, but my wife reminded me that I was considering training for a marathon before the accident happened. When I remembered this, I was fixated on the idea at Spaulding. I kept asking my PT Natalie when I could run again, while I could barely walk a hundred feet without assistance. I would set off my bed alarm by moving to the edge of my bed to look out the window to watch people running by the river.

I was discharged at the end of June, and I ran two very slow miles for the first time on July 25, 2024. Spaulding is where I first felt hope and joy again, where my soul was returned to me, and I’m so grateful to run my city’s marathon supporting Spaulding.