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Jose Fuentes | Stroke Survivor & Runner

@jhfr76

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🥇5K|19:32 🥇10K|40:40 🥇HM|1:41 ⭐️M|3:35 ☘️ Stroke Survivor @strokerunnerjourney

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It's official. Bib 17087. 🗽

Less than two years ago, a stroke told me I might never walk again. On November 1, I'll start the @nycmarathon AWD Start 2 at 9:10 AM, running with Team Achilles for every athlete who's been told: "You can't."

23 days to go. Five boroughs. One more chapter.

Thank you @myolympiccoach & @runningwithlucho for building this engine, and @achilles_international for opening the door. 🧡

🔗 Help me reach my $6,500 goal for Achilles: link in bio / pinned comment.

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Ya es oficial. Bib 17087. 🗽

Hace menos de dos años un stroke me dijo que quizás no volvería a caminar. El 1 de noviembre salgo en el TCS New York City Marathon, AWD Start 2 a las 9:10 AM, corriendo con Team Achilles por cada atleta al que le han dicho "no puedes".

Faltan 23 días. Cinco condados. Un capítulo más.

Gracias @myolympiccoach por construir este motor, y a @achillesinternational por abrirme la puerta. 🧡

🔗 Ayúdame a alcanzar la meta de $6,500 para Achilles: link en la bio / en el comentario.

#StrokeRunnerJourney #StrokeSurvivor #TCSNYCMarathon #NYCMarathon #NYCM50 #TeamAchilles #AchillesInternational #MyOlympicCoach #RoadToNYC #MarathonTraining #RunningForACause #StrokeRecovery #MiamiRunners #CorredoresLatinos taken in New York City by @jhfr76

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8 days ago

Sin palabras...... taken in Chacao, Miranda by @jhfr76

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22 days ago

by @jhfr76

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a month ago

🫶 Madre hoy nos dejas de este plano fisico y ello deja un vacío enorme en mi corazón 💔 sentir tu aliento por última vez y tenerte en mis brazos al partir, en la sensación de vacío más profunda que he podido sentir. No solo se marcha mi amiga, se va la mujer que le puso color a mi vida del día uno. Me enseñaste tanto, que no me va a alcanzar esta vida para agradecerle a Dios por haberme permitido ser tu hijo. Me quedo con esa sonrisa, esos ojos lindos que me guiaron durante todo este tiempo. Me queda el sabor amargo de quien sabe que nos faltaron cosas por hacer, personas que conocer y momentos por compartir. Estas son las líneas más difíciles de escribir. Y lo hago con el alma hecha pedazos, pero no puedo ser egoísta con la mujer que me enseñó que en la vida no se trata de tener, sino de dar, y esa entrega que tuviste con tus hijos no la borrara nada ni nadie. Hoy nos dejas, hoy te marchas, y viviré esperando el momento de volver a estar juntos y cumplir nuestros sueños en la eternidad. Vieja, solo le pido a Dios que este viaje que emprendiste hoy te lleve a ese lugar especial donde ya no hay dolor ni sufrimiento alguno, donde puedas vivir plenamente. Que difícil es tener que empezar esta etapa sabiendo que ya no tendré más aunque sea en una videollamada para comer juntos, o en una visita relámpago a Ccs. Espero y confío plenamente que desde el cielo serás esa luz que me guíe y que nos protejas. Te amo mucho y me gratitud infinita por ser la mejor mamá del mundo. Me diste la vida, y hoy te llevas buena parte de mi corazón, trabajaré por honrar tu memoria, y todo el sacrificio que hiciste por nosotros. Gracias por creer en mí y guiarme aún cuando ni yo mismo era capaz de ver la luz! Mi vida no será la misma sin ti!! 🫶💔😥💫 taken in Caracas, Venezuala by @jhfr76

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a month ago

$3,250 in. $3,250 to go.

Exactly halfway. Down to the dollar.

Someone donated this morning and pushed me over the line — anonymously. No name. Nothing to tag. Nothing to get back. That's the whole point of what Achilles does.

On December 15, 2024, I had a stroke. I left the hospital with a walker, drifting to the left, no idea if I'd run again.

On November 1, 2026, I'll run the @nycmarathon as an @achilles_international athlete.

Achilles has spent over 40 years proving that finish lines belong to everyone — including the athletes whose disability you can't see from the sidelines. Guides. Training. Race entries. Community. That's what your donation pays for.

The first half took months and dozens of people.
The second half is due October 26.

$25 · $50 · $100 — every single one moves the bar.

🔗 Link in bio

If you can't give, share this. That helps too.

My team and support @myolympiccoach & @runningwithlucho

📷 @elboribarber taken in Tropical Park by @jhfr76

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2 months ago

Saucy Sixes. 6 AM. Sun’s not even up. ☀️🏃‍♂️

The alarm goes off at 4:45 and the only question is whether you get up. Today: 20 min warm up → 7 × 600m at half marathon pace with 1:30 rest → 10 min cool down. Group 2 holding 7:00/mi.

Speed is not a gift. It’s trained — one rep at a time, one morning at a time. Nobody’s watching at 6 AM. That’s exactly why it counts.

Every 600 is a step toward the start line in New York City @nycmarathon on November 1st, running for @achilles_international @myolympiccoach @runningwithlucho

Next stop: NYC. 🗽- 🎥 @anibalhern 💪 taken in Tropical Park, Miami, Florida by @jhfr76

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3 months ago

🏃‍♂️ Father’s Day long run — 14.01 miles done. Threshold work in 84°F Miami heat, best mile 8:16, and surrounded by this crew. El running todo lo puede. This is what the comeback looks like.
🏃‍♂️ Long run del Día del Padre — 14.01 millas completadas. Trabajo de umbral bajo el calor de Miami, mejor milla 8:16, y rodeado de esta familia. El running todo lo puede. Así se ve el regreso.
🎯 Next stop: @nycmarathon , 1 nov 2026. Corriendo por @achilles_international — link en bio.
#StrokeRunnerJourney #ElRunningTodoLoPuede #FathersDay #DiaDelPadre #Achilles NYCMarathon LongRun MyOlympicCoach RunMiami by @jhfr76

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4 months ago

😮 18 months ago, doctors weren't sure I'd walk again. 🧠

💯Today I ran aerobic fartlek in Group 2 at half-marathon pace.

🔥It wasn't a miracle. It was showing up on the track every Tuesday and Friday. Every Sunday long run. Every day I didn't feel like it but laced up anyway.

❤️Stroke recovery isn't a straight line — it's discipline repeated thousands of times until your body remembers who you are.

💫Consistency isn't glamorous. It's boring. It's 5am. It's the work no one sees.

But it's the only thing that builds comebacks. 💙

🗽 Next stop: @nycmarathon · Nov 1, 2026

🏃‍♂️ With @MyOlympicCoach @runningwithlucho

🎥 @anibalhern The Best!

👇 Link to support my @Achilles_International campaign in bio

#StrokeRecovery #StrokeRunnerJourney #Comeback #Consistency #Discipline #NYCMarathon #AchillesInternational #RunMiami #TrackTuesday #NeverGiveUp taken in Tropical Park by @jhfr76

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4 months ago

Sitting down with @dimelo305 at the place where it all happens: Tropical Park. 🌴

This is Part 1 of a special 4-part series about my journey — who I am, where I come from, and why running became the center of my life after everything changed.

18 months ago, I couldn’t have imagined this conversation. Today, I get to share it with you.

▶️ Part 2 drops in a few days: the day that changed everything.
🎙️ Full interview on @dimelo305 (YouTube).
💙 Running the 2026 @nycmarathon for @achilles_international — link in bio.

#StrokeRunnerJourney #Dimelo305 #StrokeSurvivor #RunningCommunity #Miami TropicalPark ComebackStory AchillesInternational NYCMarathon RunningMotivation taken in Miami, Florida by @jhfr76

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4 months ago

Chicago Was Proof. New York Is the Mission.

@chimarathon was proof. New York is the mission. 🗽 @nycmarathon · November 1, 2026 · Goal: 3:30:00 · Running as @achilles_international athlete. One day left in Stroke Awareness Month. If my story moved you this month — this is the moment.

Link to donate in pinned comment. Every dollar runs with me. 💙

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@chimarathon fue la prueba. @nycmarathon es la misión. 🗽 Queda un solo día del Stroke Awareness Month. Si mi historia te movió este mes — este es el momento.

Link para donar en el comentario adjunto. Cada dólar corre conmigo. 💙

#NYCMarathon
#TCSNYCMarathon
#AchillesInternational
#StrokeRunnerJourney
#RunForPurpose
#DisabilityAwareness
#26point2
#MiamiRunner by @jhfr76

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5 months ago

"From Hospital Bed to 26.2 Miles" — The 299-Day Story.

❤️ 299 days.

That's how long it took — from the day I had my stroke (December 15, 2024) to the moment I crossed the @chimarathon finish line on October 12, 2025.

Official time: 3:35:19. Bib #34709. One of six World Marathon Majors. ✅

Statistically, fewer than 500 people worldwide complete a full marathon in less than 10 months after a stroke. I'm humbled to be one of them.

But Chicago was just chapter one.

Next stop → @nycmarathon, November 1, 2026. This time I'm running as an @achilles_international athlete — and every mile I run is a fundraiser for stroke and disability awareness.

Link in bio to donate. Every dollar counts. 🙏

#StrokeRunnerJourney #StrokeSurvivor #ChicagoMarathon #MarathonRunner #StrokeRecovery #RunningWithPurpose #AchillesInternational #NYCMarathon #StrokeAwareness #WorldMarathonMajors #NeverGiveUp #Running #Marathon #RecoveryIsPossible by @jhfr76

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5 months ago

The day my brain went dark. 🎗️

I want to tell you about the moment everything changed.

I was arriving at Tropical Park on the afternoon of 12/15/2024, holding my oldest daughter's hand, when my body suddenly started to feel strange. I felt weak, dizzy, and everything began fading within seconds.

Then I collapsed and fell to the ground.
My vision became blurry, and I felt an intense spinning sensation — like being trapped inside a machine that would not stop turning. For a few minutes, I lost consciousness. When I came back, confusion took over. Someone called 911, and the rescue team arrived quickly. Everything was chaos.

A few hours later, I met fear in its most terrifying form when I heard the words that I had suffered a stroke. For a while after, the question wasn't "when do I race again?" It was "Will I walk normally again?"
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The brain is the most stubborn organ in the body. It doesn't quit on you — but it does ask you to rebuild, neuron by neuron.

That's what the next 18 months were: rebuilding.

The marathon I ran in Chicago last October? That wasn't the comeback.
The first walk around the block was.
Every single mile after that has been a bonus that the doctors weren't sure I'd get.

From surviving… to rebuilding… to running 26.2 miles through @chimarathon 3:35:19. Not because the road was easy — but because small steps, repeated daily, became a new life.
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Tag someone in your life who came back from something hard. They need to hear this today. 💚

🏃‍♂️ The next chapter: @achilles_international @nycmarathon — November 1, 2026.

Help me run this one for everyone still in the rebuild.

💚 DONATE — link in bio
$2,000 raised of $6,500 · 31% funded

#StrokeRunnerJourney #StrokeAwarenessMonth #StrokeSurvivor
#FromStrokeToMarathon #ChicagoMarathon #NYCMarathon2026
#AchillesInternational #Recovery #Resilience
#NeuronByNeuron #SmallStepsBigWins #BrainHealth
#StrokeAwareness #MiamiRunners #RunForACause by @jhfr76

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5 months ago