THE BRONX (WABC) -- Shaquille Roberts sees running as a way to persevere through hard times, and he wants others to embrace it.
Roberts, who will be participating in the 2024 TCS NYC Marathon, is hoping to inspire and help people in the Bronx pursue their goals after having gotten through his own trials and tribulations.
Not born in the Bronx, Roberts first came to New York City from the tiny island of St. Kitts to be treated as a burn victim.
"It was a house accident and I was in hospital within two years and actually came to New York to get a skin graft surgery," he said.
Roberts struggled to walk for almost two years.
"The doctors thought I might not be able to stand up straight," said Roberts. "But through a lot of therapy and a lot of friends and family constantly encouraging me to walk straight and do things like that, I prevailed. And now I'm running marathons, I can't even believe it."
Roberts says he was introduced to the marathon by ABC 7, but he also gained inspiration from some friendly competition.
"When my friend ran in, I think like 4:30 and I was like, I could do a little bit better than that," he acknowledged. "I started training for it and I got really fully invested. It was like a marathon. You can't train for one, it kind of becomes your lifestyle."
Roberts' love for running led him to the "Bronx Burners" rub club, where he continues to give back.
"Right now our goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of the year and we're at $90,000 right now," said Roberts. "And in just a span of a year, so last year is when we started our scholarship fund when the club started and we've already raised $90,000 and we've already given out $30,000 of scholarships."
Another goal of Roberts was initially to get a six star, which is running all six majors with the NYC Marathon being one of them.
"When I started that journey it was all about me," Roberts noted. "But after starting to run club, it's like it's bigger than me. It's it's about my community. It's about how many people from the Bronx I can get to get their six star."