- Forgiveness, resilience, and unity fuel Kerry Gruson’s journey, 50 years after a life-changing trauma.
- Kerry Gruson and Caryn Lubetsky redefine limits, showing the power and impact of teamwork.
- The pair offer a positive model of unity in our divided times.
In 2021, I shared a remarkable post about Kerry Gruson and Caryn Lubetsky, a story of hope and resiliency. These women continue to amaze and inspire me, and I hope you will feel the same. Tomorrow we travel to Washington, D.C., where these two women will compete in the Marine Corps Marathon/50K for the third consecutive year, with elite athlete Caryn Lubetsky pushing Kerry Gruson’s wheelchair.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the attack on Kerry, who was severely disabled after an attempted strangulation by a veteran. Instead of feeling anger, remorse, grief, or bitterness, she wanted to find him and offer her forgiveness in person. After a long investigation, Kerry discovered that he had passed away. She was disappointed but hopes that her story will help others achieve peace of mind, knowing that even terrible acts can be forgiven. And perhaps others will learn that living with disabilities is life-altering but need not diminish one’s passion, purpose, or impact.
Kerry sees both herself and her assailant as victims of war. Rather than harboring anger, she uses her energy to transform life’s obstacles into opportunities. She views challenges as an invitation to use the imagination, to think more nimbly, and reset expectations. She works tirelessly to break down societal barriers about perceived limitations. Her partnership with Caryn Lubetsky proves the extraordinary impact of teamwork and offers a powerful model of unity in our divided times.
Since 2021, Kerry, Caryn, and their nonprofit, ThumbsUp International, have expanded their impact and earned an additional entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest run of a duo team (12 hours in Miami and 56.1 nonstop miles). The two have continued their mission to “Race2Educate.” Following their previous MCM50K run, they joined a session of an “Extreme Decisions” course taught by Nils Olsen, assistant professor of organizational sciences at George Washington University. “Kerry and Caryn are not only elite athletes, in the ways that they continuously push themselves to new physical heights, they’re also consistently looking for ways to optimize their mental acuity,” says Olsen. The pair are the embodiment of a growth mindset, as defined by psychologist Carol Dweck…