Danny Barcia’s Comeback: Training for the New York Road Runners Half Marathon

Danny Barcia feels energized as he returns to the track.

“It’s my free time to think about the day and clear my mind a bit and enjoy the outdoors,” Barcia said.

The New Yorker of Ecuadorian origin has been training for months to participate along with 26,000 other runners in the New York Road Runners Half Marathon, the most attended race of its kind in the country.

“This year is special for me because I haven’t raced it for a long time,” added Barcia.

His first full-length race in years, having been hospitalized in the middle of the pandemic with a rare disease.

“I had a pain in my abdomen and I didn’t know what it was and I said: ‘My body is going to heal,'” Barcia said. “I waited a long time and when I finally got to the hospital they found me that I had diverticulitis. They tried to kill the infection with antibiotics but because I was so late they had to do surgery and put in a colostomy, bag and all. Due to the pandemic, I spent three weeks in the hospital without letting visitors in.”

Depressed and isolated, wondering “why did this happen to me?” his family encouraged him to recover and move on. Three years later, he does remember all the hospital patients who lost the battle against COVID-19.

“I was one of the lucky ones to have a disease that was not COVID and to see what happened to all the people. I lost family, my wife lost family and it was something that made me reflect that thank God it is something that had a solution”, Barcia said.

The half marathon will be held this Saturday, May 20, starting in Prospect Park and reaching the finish line at Coney Island.

“Nobody stops us because… 💪

“We are officially ONE WEEK AWAY from #RBCBrooklynHalf! On May 20, YOU will take to the streets of Brooklyn and cross the iconic Coney Island finish line.🥳🏅

Who is excited? 😆🎉”, read a message on social networks that the organizers posted a few days ago about the Half Marathon.

Ain’t no stopping us because…💪

We are officially ONE WEEK out from the #RBCBrooklynHalf! On May 20, YOU will be taking over the streets of Brooklyn and crossing the iconic Coney Island finish line.🥳🏅

Who’s pumped?😆🎉 pic.twitter.com/bsjowwnlTJ

— New York Road Runners (@nyrr) May 13, 2023

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