Like many of the 50,000 runners who competed in Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon, Will Reeve, son of the late “Superman” star Christopher Reeve, hit the so-called “wall” at the 19-mile mark in upper Manhattan.
“My legs were locked up, and I couldn’t bend my knees,” the handsome 24-year-old tells The Post one day after completing his first 26.2-mile run, in which he competed for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
“But there was no way I was not going to finish. Not with the Reeve Foundation emblem on my chest.”
So far, the ESPN sports news reporter has raised $38,000 for the charity, surpassing his $35,000 goal, and hopes more donations will take him to the $40,000 mark.
He finished the race in a respectable 4 hours and 36 minutes, wearing a bright orange T-shirt with his name emblazoned across it.
“It made a huge difference, because strangers were calling out my name and urging me on,” says Reeve. “In every borough, there were people clapping and cheering.”
Still, he couldn’t help feeling jealous of supporters who were spilling out of the bars situated along the marathon route.
“I kept telling myself I’d have a beer as soon as it was over,” says the dark-haired athlete, whom we featured in Nov. 1’s Post about his race aspirations.
He revealed how, every step of the way, he’d be thinking of his parents, who sadly didn’t live to watch him cross the finish line.
Christopher became a disabled-rights activist and fund-raiser after being paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1995. He passed away, via a massive heart attack, nine years later.
Will’s mom, Dana, a nonsmoker, died just 17 months later after succumbing to lung cancer, leaving an orphaned Will to be raised by family friends.
“My family was dotted around the route, and it was very emotional every time I saw them,” says Will.
“They kept me going.”