Native American - Wheelchair Racer

Hello, My name is Pierre Mark. I am a 27 year old Native American (Navajo), I am from a very small town called Crystal, NM (Navajo Indian Reservation). At the age of ten, I was involved in an accidental gunshot which left me paralyzed immediately after being hit from the back. Through out my years of being disabled, I was never really involved with activities, whether it be sports or being outside. After high school, I did what anybody did, I pursued getting my degree in Las Vegas, NV. At the time I never knew such events as Half Marathons going on and one day my sister participated in a Rock-N-Roll marathon. That is where I first saw people in handcycle/racing wheelchairs doing the full or half marathon. I got motivation from my sister, I said to myself, if she can do it, so can I. December 2012, I completed my very first half marathon and from there on I found myself doing more half marathons (San Diego, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Shiprock, NM). November 2014, I then completed my first ever full marathon and in May 2016 I finished my second full marathon. Now that I have nine medals under my belt, now my next achievement is to get competitive about racing. I am trying to raise funds for a racing wheelchair and my goal is compete in the New York City marathon and Boston marathon.