Boston inspires man missing limbs to run Crazylegs

In light of the Boston Marathon bombings, there were extra measures taken at Saturday’s Crazylegs Classic in Madison.

UW Police increased patrols, with officers visible throughout the race.

K-9 patrol units were also used in order to sniff out any unattended bags.

Police said they were also thankful for observant citizens.

“We had one citizen call in a couple hours ago with a suspicious backpack out on the race route,” said UW police spokesman Marc Lovicott.

“Which is great because that shows us that people are very vigilant and they’re calling us when something seems out of place.”

Fortunately, that report turned out to be nothing of note.

UW Police said they’ll review how this year went to see if the extra security measures will need to stick around.

While the Boston attacks were clearly on the minds of many of the runners on Saturday, a Janesville man named Marty Pomplun hoped that by running, he could inspire those injured in Boston to never lose their competitive spirit.

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As the sound of an air horn sent thousands of runners into downtown Madison, Pomplun was one of the last people to start his Crazylegs run.

But the self-described “old timer” felt good nevertheless.

“This week I put in four miles of walking,” said Pomplun.

The Janesville native lost his legs to frostbite in 2005. But he said he has wanted to run Crazylegs ever since.

Rather than continuing to sit on the sidelines, his heart told him this was the year he should run.

“I wanted to show a little inspiration for the people who lost their limbs in Boston,” explained Pomplun.

Marty had new legs made just for Saturday’s race, new prostheses that lock in place, so he didn’t have to worry about them coming off.

And he had them brightly decorated to show off his farming roots.

Marty lost his legs over seven years ago, but he’s hoping that by simply crossing the finish line, he’ll be an inspiration to others.

“Determination gets you to the finish line,” said Pomplun. “It’s all in a positive attitude and determination you can do anything.”

Thousands crossed the finish line at Camp Randall Stadium before Pomplun, but that was OK with him. He was just concerned with finishing the race.

Which he did.