Among the thousands of runners at the 2023 Miami Marathon, there’s one who surpassed all of life’s hurdles.
Rivka Shotkin was paralyzed from the chest down after a ski accident in 2021. This past weekend, she crossed the finish line, and it was a massive triumph for the teenager.
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“While you're doing the marathon, it feels like it's never going to end,” she said. “And then my crossing, it's like, 'Oh my God, I did it.'"
Crossing a finish line is a big deal for any runner — but for Shotkin, it means so much more.
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“The way everyone, like, picks each other up and cheers everyone on,” she said. “It's like you're all one big group and you all have the same goal and everyone's like, you know, go, girl, you got this. That like, just everyone is one. Everyone you know, that was really so amazing.”
She was part of Team Lifeline, a team that sported bright yellow jerseys to raise money and awareness for Chai Lifeline, a network that gives social and emotional help to people dealing with medical trauma.
“The first thing that comes to mind about what is so inspiring about Rivka is just how what a young person she is and how much she's learned and how much she's been able to share with people and inspire people at the young age of 17,” said Moshe Turk, the national race director for the group.
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Shotkin's 2021 accident left her with broken bones, punctured lungs, spinal injuries and paralyzed her from the chest down. Lifeline came in to help.
“Right after my accident, they really took care of not only me, but my whole family,” she said. “They sent toys and food to my family. I was in rehab for three months. They sent me dinner every single night.”
And this past weekend, Shotkin crossed a big item off her bucket list: finishing the 2023 Miami Marathon. Now she hopes to inspire others to live life differently.
“We all walk around like it's just, like, so difficult or something,” she said. “Like, it's not a gift to be here. I think you should open your eyes a little bit, see how beautiful life is.”
