TCS NYC Marathon: Bronx man runs to inspire and help people in his community reach their goals

THE BRONX (WABC) — Shaquille Roberts sees running as a way to get through tough times, and he wants others to embrace it.

Roberts, who will run in the TCS NYC Marathon in 2024, hopes to inspire and help people in the Bronx achieve their goals after going through his own trials and tribulations.

Roberts was not born in the Bronx, but first came to New York from the tiny island of St. Kitts to be treated like a burn.

“It was a domestic accident, I was in the hospital for two years and I actually came to New York to do a skin graft,” he said.

For almost two years, Roberts struggled to walk.

“The doctors thought I wouldn’t be able to stand up straight,” Roberts said. “But with a lot of therapy and a lot of friends and family constantly encouraging me to walk straight and do these things, I overcame. And now I’m running marathons, I can’t even believe it.”

Roberts says he was introduced to the ABC 7 marathon, but he also got inspiration from friendly competition.

“When my friend came running, I think it was around 4:30, and I thought I could do a little better than that,” he admitted. “I started training for it and I was really fully invested. It was like a marathon. You can’t train for one, it kind of becomes your lifestyle.”

Roberts’ love of running led him to the Bronx Burners Athletic Club, where he continues to excel.

“Our goal right now is to raise $100,000 by the end of the year, and we’re at $90,000 right now,” Roberts said. “And just in a year, so last year we started our scholarship fund when the club started and we’ve already raised $90,000 and we’ve already given out $30,000 in scholarships.”

Roberts’ other goal initially was to have six stars running in all six majors, one of which is the New York Marathon.

“When I started this journey, it was all about me,” noted Roberts. “But after I started managing the club, it seems like it’s bigger than me. It’s about my community. It’s about how many people from the Bronx I can get on my six stars.”

The 2024 TCS New York City Marathon will be held on Sunday, November 3. Broadcast on Channel 7 and wherever you broadcast ABC 7 New York begins with our Marathon Sunday pre-race show at 7:00 am. Live coverage of the marathon begins at 8 a.m. only on Channel 7 and ESPN2.

———-
* More Bronx news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube