When Tommy Rivers Puzey toes the starting line at the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, he will once again stand out with the chiseled muscular frame that has always set him apart from the much smaller and leaner physique of the elite marathoners he once competed against.
While his physical strength and relentless determination will be on full display, the elite-level aerobic engine that once put Puzey on the verge of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon will be blatantly absent. His 26.2-mile journey from Staten Island to Central Park won’t be about running fast, but instead celebrating his remarkable recovery from a rare form of lung cancer.
“If I was trying to build a body that was trying to be fit to run my best marathon, it would look very different,” says Puzey, whose six-foot, 178-pound frame looks as fit as ever. “The only thing I am focused on now is building enough mass and endurance and building enough strength and fortitude so that, if and when I do get sick again, that I have enough meat on my bones to give the doctors something to work with.”
