--- title: Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon description: It took him just under 20 hours to complete the race canonical: https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/ author: Sports Illustrated article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T19:47:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:33:40.756Z article:section: Sports og:title: Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon og:description: It took him just under 20 hours to complete the race og:url: https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93bd107a1a7c3622/6987ec305f570f5569b193c2/ap219160354634-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Boston Police Commissioner William Evans (L) and Mayor Marty Walsh (C) listen as Maickel Melamed, of Venezuela, speaks during a Boston Marathon ceremony in Boston on April 21, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon twitter:description: It took him just under 20 hours to complete the race twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93bd107a1a7c3622/6987ec305f570f5569b193c2/ap219160354634-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Mike Fiammetta / Sports Illustrated](https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Mike Fiammetta / Sports Illustrated Apr 21, 2015 7:47 PM UTC  Boston Police Commissioner William Evans (L) and Mayor Marty Walsh (C) listen as Maickel Melamed, of Venezuela, speaks during a Boston Marathon ceremony in Boston on April 21, 2015. Boston Police Commissioner William Evans (L) and Mayor Marty Walsh (C) listen as Maickel Melamed, of Venezuela, speaks during a Boston Marathon ceremony in Boston on April 21, 2015.Bill Sikes—AP by [Mike Fiammetta / Sports Illustrated](https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Mike Fiammetta / Sports Illustrated Apr 21, 2015 7:47 PM UTC Maickel Melamed, a Venezuelan college professor with muscular dystrophy, [completed](http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/boston-marathons-final-inspiring-competitor/story?id=30467492#.VTZn9Z66X6I.twitter) the 119th Boston Marathon early Tuesday morning in just under 20 hours. Melamed, 39, has completed marathons in Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo, and he finished the 26.2-mile run down Boylston Street with a flock of supporters cheering him on and [physically supporting him](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/04/21/boston-marathons-final-finisher-an-inspirational-story/) when he grew tired. They also counted in Spanish for every step he took. Melamed told reporters after finishing the race that Monday’s marathon would be his last. He’s physically unable to run another after the toll on his body and weight loss. “It was tough, the wind, the rain, the distance, the cold, everything today was overcome,” Melamed said, [reports](http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/04/21/boston-marathons-final-finisher-an-inspirational-story/) CBS Boston. “For me I’m so grateful for Boston and to Boston this is an amazing city.” Melamed’s family took him to Boston when he was young for life-saving treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital, according to CBS Boston. He ran the marathon with supporters from the group VAMOS Boston to spread a message of peace, and will be presented with a finisher’s medal by Boston mayor Marty Walsh on Tuesday. _This_ [_article_](http://www.si.com/edge/2015/04/21/boston-marathon-2015-runner-muscular-dystrophy-finishes-20-hours) _originally appeared on_ [_SI.com_](http://www.si.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/"},"headline":"Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon","datePublished":"2015-04-21T19:47:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:33:40.756Z","description":"It took him just under 20 hours to complete the race","url":"https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/","keywords":["Running","Marathon","Boston Marathon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93bd107a1a7c3622/6987ec305f570f5569b193c2/ap219160354634-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mike Fiammetta / Sports Illustrated"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93bd107a1a7c3622/6987ec305f570f5569b193c2/ap219160354634-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Boston Police Commissioner William Evans (L) and Mayor Marty Walsh (C) listen as Maickel Melamed, of Venezuela, speaks during a Boston Marathon ceremony in Boston on April 21, 2015.","caption":"Boston Police Commissioner William Evans (L) and Mayor Marty Walsh (C) listen as Maickel Melamed, of Venezuela, speaks during a Boston Marathon ceremony in Boston on April 21, 2015.","creditText":"Bill Sikes—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/running/","name":"Running"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3830285/venezuelan-runner-muscular-dystrophy/","name":"Venezuelan Runner With Muscular Dystrophy Finishes Boston Marathon"}}]}] ```