Drunk driving victim uses Aramco Houston Half Marathon comeback story to help others
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For a Houston half marathon participant, her comeback race is about more than completing 13.1 miles.
This Sunday, Kerilyn Scoville will take part in the race.
"I'm excited and not terrified about (it) actually" Scoville said.
It'll be her fifth half marathon, but she almost didn't get to run.
Two years ago, her athletic career almost ended.
"I was on my way to work and was basically broadsided by a drunk driver," Scoville said.
She suffered five broken bones and had a rod placed from her knee to her hip.
"I have some tendons that are torn in my hip that aren't really repairable," Scoville said. "That has my hip angled in a little bit so it's kind of banging."
Despite the pain, she ran in last year's half marathon.
But doctors have told her this year will have to be her last.
"This is not something that I do for fun," Scoville said. "It is an endurance thing and it really rang true to me this year."
Not because she won't be able to do it again, but the cause she took on.
Scoville joined team Living Water, a group that raises funds to give people safe water.
Overall, the group collected more than $170,000.
Scoville nearly raised the most money at $10,000, enough money to provide 412 people with clean water.
"When you face challenges in your life, it can be easy to look inward and focus on yourself, but it takes a special person to continue to look and see what they can do for others even in the hardship of themselves," Team Living Water Director Jeremiah Collins said.
While Sunday's race will be a comeback story, to Scoville, her final run is about helping others.
"I couldn't be happier, and I certainly couldn't have foreseen it during days of wheelchair, walker and cane."
Days long gone, as she continues to run, and bike against the odds.
