Malverne's 'Wacky' Wheelchair Athlete Wins Over Youth

Anyone lacking the willpower to follow through with their New Year's resolutions,  should take a look at Peter Hawkins, a man that can finish a marathon in just over two hours even though he is unable to use his legs.

"The other [athletes] think I'm a little on the wacky side," said Peter Hawkins, of Malverne, a champion wheelchair racer.

"I can't work out to the clock like them.  If I work out for, say, two hours, I know I won't do as much work as when I counted my strokes."

His workout consists of an average 6,000 strokes. Despite his methods being "wacky," they have led the 45-year-old Malvernite to win race after race in the area and allowed him to compete globally against top international racers.

Hawkins has repeatedly won the Long Island Marathon, competed in New York City, Boston and Chicago marathons, and raced in Korea, Thailand, and Japan. The biggest rush, however, comes from those that allow only wheelchairs, like the Oita International Wheelchair Race in Japan.

"It's a pretty cool thing to just watch 500 pairs of elbows and hear the punching against the wheels. You don't hear that in Boston or New York because those are mostly runners," Hawkins said. "The sound is completely different with wheelchairs."

Despite his immense success, Hawkins doesn't have an official sponsor.

"How do you go up and ask someone for money like that? How does that happen?I can't do it."

A low maintenance athlete, Hawkins knows that success comes from hard work, not superstitions.

"I don't have to wear like a certain pair of socks or something to races," he said. "The one thing I did do was start to bring brownies that my mom had baked, but if I forgot them, I wouldn't say 'Oh no, I can't do this race!'"

Hawkins, whose injury is classified as a T6 Para, believes certain injuries and chairs warrant separation into different events entirely. For example, hand cycles. Competing on a hand cycle in a wheelchair race, according to Hawkins, is like someone on a bicycle competing in a running race.

"Last year, I came in second in a race for the wheelchairs, but it was put down that I came in 19th...that's because there were 16 hand cycles in front of me. People don't realize it's a completely different thing, " he said. "I could use a hand cycle and finish a marathon in an hour, but I choose not to."

Hawkins' life consists of not only racing, but also public speaking. Talking to what he calls the transition grades, where students are moving on to middle school, high school - especially around prom season - and college. Hawkins speaks frankly and realistically, knowing all too well the consequences of average teenage behavior. A car accident when he was 17 years old is why he remains paralyzed three inches from the bellybutton on down.

"I was captain of the football team," he said. "I was indestructible. Nobody could hurt me. Those were the choices I made and this is how it worked out for me. I try to explain that you will never be able to move through the world anonymously.

He tells them, "Somebody's gonna look at you. It's taught me a lot about people… You almost feel like you have to prove you're not brain damaged! I'm the same person. I'm just getting around in a different way… That's a lot to have to learn at 17."

Realizing many kids might not change their behavior, Hawkins believes if he can get through to just one of them, he has done his job.

"I was in LaGuardia Airport in 1999 on the way to the Chicago marathon and I caught eyes with a young girl. She said 'I know you! You came to my school!' I had gone to her school in May and it was now October. The fact that she recognized me means that she thought about me. I made an impression."

Hawkins continues to train despite the snow and will be racing today, Jan. 16, in Phoenix, Ariz. Patch wishes him the best of luck - although with his proven grit, we don't think he'll need it!