Tyler Heffner doesn’t think he did anything special by running the half marathon in the Warrior Run on Fort Sill, but City of Lawton officials think differently.
Heffner, 11, recently was recognized with the Young Achiever Award, which was inspired by him, from City Manager John Ratliff. Fort Sill garrison commander Col. Derek Baird brought Heffner to the City’s attention after Heffner ran the half marathon, which is 13.1 miles, on March 25 with his mother — all with no training and on his prosthetic left leg.
Heffner suffers from congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia, meaning his left leg curved more than his right one. Therapy and braces did not correct the curvature, so his lower leg was amputated when he was 3 years old. His mother, Audrina, said he was still in pain and discomfort and he did not have a good quality of life after the first surgery. When he was 7, his leg was amputated below the knee.
“Ever since he had that one, he’s been unstoppable. He’s been on the go,” his mother said.
Being on the go includes running.
Tyler first became interested in running when the family was stationed at Fort Bragg and his mother saw a 5K race with a superheroes theme advertised. She said he is obsessed with superheroes, so she asked him if he wanted to participate.
He agreed, and the rest is history, as they say.
He ran two 5K races at Fort Bragg before the family was transferred to Fort Sill in December. He heard about the Warrior Run and decided to give it a try even though he and his mother had not trained for that distance.
“I just wanted to try it,” Heffner said. “It was going through my neighborhood.” Heffner said he likes to challenge himself to go longer distances.
His mom agreed to run with him, and the two entered the race. His mother said a special division and plaque were created just for him because children were not supposed to run the half marathon; however, Fort Sill officials made an exception so Heffner could complete his goal.
It took Heffner and his mother 4 hours to complete the course.
“We stopped for water breaks and I stopped to rest,” Heffner said.
By mile 4, his mother was ready to stop and Heffner started hurting at about mile 10. The two decided they were almost done and could make it to the finish line.
“He just goes out and does it,” his mother said. “He walks them, technically, because his prosthetic isn’t made for running.”
Heffner has outgrown this prosthetic leg and is due to get a new one in about two weeks. The family also is going to apply to Limbs for Life for a running blade, which will allow Heffner to compete in more races and to play sports; he said he enjoys soccer.
Heffner is looking forward to getting both new legs.
“I can’t run very well with this leg,” the sixth grader said.
Baird heard about Heffner’s accomplishment and mentioned it at a City Council meeting and Ratliff reached out to Heffner’s mom for the full story. Ratliff decided Heffner should be recognized for his accomplishment, and created the Young Achiever Award “to honor exceptional courage, perseverance and achievement in young people.”
Heffner was the first recipient of the new award.
It was especially poignant that Heffner received the award for the Warrior Run.
"Warriors come in all shapes and sizes," Baird said.
While Heffner said he was thankful for the award, he doesn’t consider his accomplishment anything special.
“I just go out there and run them,” he said.
He decided one half marathon is enough for now. After the Warrior Run, he and his mother ran the 5K in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April.
“I’m just going to do 5Ks until I’m older,” he said, although he might try a quarter marathon, at a mere 6 miles.