T.J. Holmes had to bow out of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon due to a serious injury that left him unable to finish the race. Holmes, 47, along with his partner Amy Robach, shared the details of the incident on their podcast, Morning Run, explaining how everything went wrong from the very start.
“We are not having the morning after that we were expecting to have after a marathon,” Robach, 51, said on the Oct. 14 episode. Typically, the day following a marathon is celebratory, but that wasn’t the case this time.
Holmes admitted that race day was filled with unexpected challenges. He and Robach struggled to find the check-in tent, missing their chance to hydrate and fuel up. “The fact of the matter is, you and I started a marathon without having a single drop of fluid and not having a single bite of food. That’s stupid,” Holmes confessed.
Although he had been battling an Achilles issue in his left leg for months, Holmes revealed that it wasn’t the Achilles that caused his downfall. During the race, he encountered a sharp turn and had to swerve around another runner. “This guy comes, just shocks me as I’m turning,” Holmes explained. “I didn’t have time, and I almost fall. I catch myself on my right leg, and immediately, I feel the tweak in my right hip and right butt cheek.”
This misstep set off a chain reaction. Holmes’ right leg injury worsened as he continued compensating for his left Achilles, which was already strained. By mile 21, Holmes’ condition took a serious turn. “You went so pale, and you just started vomiting, like, on the street,” Robach recalled. Paramedics quickly intervened, noting that Holmes’ body was reacting to the pain.
Despite his injury and the ordeal, Holmes was already thinking ahead. “Before we even got back to the hotel, my thought was all about [how] I gotta get healthy for the New York City Marathon in three weeks,” he shared. Robach promised to cheer him on, but Holmes quipped, “I don’t need a cheerleader; obviously, I need a nurse.”
Robach, who witnessed the event, said that she knew it was serious when she saw the tears in his eyes. “You were literally grunting in pain,” she said, noting how difficult it was to watch him suffer.
Holmes left the marathon in an ambulance, leaving his race unfinished. However, his determination to heal and get back on the marathon circuit remains strong, as he now focuses on recovering for the New York City Marathon.
As the couple reflects on the challenges they faced, one thing is clear—this setback won’t keep Holmes from pursuing his passion for running.
Have you ever had to overcome a major setback while pursuing a personal goal?