Chris Koch Goes Sub-4:00 in Marathon, Inspires 6-Year-Old Double Amputee to Race 5K – runnersworld.com

• Alberta native Chris Koch, 40, who was born without full arms or legs, used a longboard to finish the Edmonton Marathon in 3:54:13 on August 18.
• Koch inspired Milania Cadrain, a six-year-old double amputee who also uses a skateboard for transportation, to compete in the 5K; she finished her race in 40:53.

Alberta native Chris Koch, 40, first met Milania Cadrain, 6, at the War Amps Child Amputee Program, a club that organizes sports and activities for amputee children. Koch said that when he first rolled up on his longboard three years ago, Cadrain, who uses a much smaller board for transportation, instantly lit up.

“We were fast friends, since we both skateboarded to get around,” he said.

Koch was born without full arms or legs (he has a partially-formed right leg and foot), while Cadrain’s legs were amputated at birth due to health complications. But that doesn’t stop them from doing what they love—like finishing a marathon and 5K, respectively, using longboards, which is what the two accomplished on August 18.

Koch said Cadrain initially wanted to do the full Edmonton Marathon, but he and Cadrain’s mother, Desiree, talked her out of it. Instead, she completed the 5K in a remarkable time of 40:53, with Koch by her side for the last 200 yards of the race.

“She’s a very headstrong little girl,” Koch said. “While most little kids are distracted by dandelions during a race, she’s very focused. She did amazing.”

Koch completed Edmonton in 3:54:13, breaking four hours for 26.2 miles for the first time ever in his seventh marathon to date. Throughout his adulthood, Koch has raced distances ranging from 5K to half marathon on the longboard (he uses his right foot to push himself along) but it wasn’t until 2016 that he decided he wanted to try the marathon.

After he was denied entry to the L.A. Marathon, which doesn’t allow longboards in the race, Koch scored a bib at the 2016 Calgary Marathon. To prepare for his first stab at the distance, he focused on core work and logged around 75 miles per week on his longboard. Sporting a neon shirt and a bright flag on the back of his board, he debuted at Calgary in 4:23:12, and was instantly smitten with the event.

He told Runner’s World after the race, “The whole damn thing was a good part.”

Following that spring 2016 race, Koch tucked five more 26.2 milers under his belt, including the 2017 Marine Corps Marathon. He told Runner’s World that he has tweaked his training plan over the years; to get ready for Edmonton, he bumped up his mileage to between 120 and 150 per week, and supplemented the miles with flights up stairs.

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“As I’ve been building up distance on the board, I’ve noticed that my shoe gets worn out much more quickly,” said Koch. “So to give my foot a break, I do a lot of stairs.”

Because he pushes his foot off the ground to speed up and drags it behind his board to brake, his shoe takes a serious beating—particularly on high-volume weeks, such as the 150-mile training week he did in Banff National Park earlier this summer.

“I sometimes have to take the shoe in to get resoled every two weeks,” he said.

Luckily, when he doesn’t have time to log massive mileage days—he keeps a busy calendar working as a motivational speaker—stairs are a great training alternative.

“I’ll find a staircase—usually in my house or whatever hotel I’m staying at—and do 40, 60, 80, or 100 flight repetitions at a time,” he said. “Sixty flights usually takes me about an hour. It’s much better cardio-wise than just jumping on the board.”

Koch said Cadrain prepared for her race with Desiree, who runs half marathons, by doing several practice 5Ks, finishing the time trials between 45 and 50 minutes. On race day, however, Cadrain finished much faster than her practices predicted.

“There were plenty of people who came in behind Milania,” Koch said. “To say I was proud of her is an understatement. It was an awesome day.”

Digital Editor Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, and now she reports on elite runners and cyclists, feel-good stories, and training pieces for Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines.