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Man, previously bedridden for 2 years, completes record-setting run across length of New Hampshire

New Hampshire Chronicle | July 9, 2025

Man, previously bedridden for 2 years, completes record-setting run across length of New Hampshire

New Hampshire Chronicle | July 9, 2025

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    TO HIM. WHETHER WE MEAN TO OR NOT, WE ALL TEND TO JUDGE PEOPLE ON FIRST IMPRESSIONS RIGHT AWAY. WHEN YOU MEET JUSTIN DE FLEURY, YOU’RE STRUCK BY HIS SENSE OF HUMOR. EVEN AFTER FINISHING A FEAT THAT WOULD LEAVE MOST RUNNERS OUT OF BREATH. HE’S CRACKING JOKES. I FORGOT MY CAR AT THE START LINE. I GOT TO GO BACK. THAT STARTING LINE IS A 3.5 HOUR JOURNEY BY CAR, BUT DE FLEURY DIDN’T DRIVE. HE RAN VIRTUALLY NONSTOP. IT TOOK ABOUT A MINUTE AND 32ND NAP IN THE CAR TODAY, WHICH ON A BACKPACK THAT WAS REALLY GREAT. I FELL ASLEEP IN THE BEACH CHAIR FOR LIKE 30S, WHICH WAS GREAT. THE 36 YEAR OLD MERRIMACK MAN RAN FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE’S CANADIAN BORDER TO THE MASSACHUSETTS BORDER. 197 MILES, THE EQUIVALENT OF ALMOST EIGHT MARATHONS. AND HE DID IT IN LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO BE EXACT. HE SAYS IT TOOK FOUR DAYS, FOUR HOURS, 56 MINUTES FASTER THAN ANYONE IN STATE HISTORY. I HONESTLY FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE STATE WAS BEHIND US. WE WERE GETTING SO MANY HONKS. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. DE FLEURY LOVES A CHALLENGE. HE’S BEEN TAKING THEM ON HIS WHOLE LIFE. HE PLAYED BASEBALL AND GOT INTO BOXING AND KICKBOXING. THEY HAD TO DO A LUMBAR PUNCTURE BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT I HAD BLOOD AROUND MY BRAIN. AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS, YOU KNOW, THEY PUT A HOLE IN MY SPINE AND I STARTED LEAKING CEREBROSPINAL FLUID. DE FLEURY WAS BEDRIDDEN FOR TWO YEARS. RECOVERY TOOK TWO MORE YEARS. WHEN HE WAS FINALLY BACK ON HIS FEET, HE RAN A5K AND FOUND HIS NEW PASSION. IN TWO YEARS I’VE DONE OVER 200 RACES. WHICH LED HIM TO THIS TO TAKE ON RUNNING THE LENGTH OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, PITTSBURGH TO NASHUA. DE FLEURY HAD A CREW OF FOUR PEOPLE TO HELP HIM. ALONG THE WAY, HE RAISED MONEY FOR THE HEATHER ABBOTT FOUNDATION, WHICH PROVIDES CUSTOM PROSTHESIS TO THOSE WHO HAVE LOST LIMBS. DE FLEURY RAN MORE THAN 40 MILES A DAY AND DID IT DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER, WITH TEMPERATURES HITTING THE 80S AND 90S TOUGHEST PART WAS THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. IT WAS SO HARD. IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT. AND, YOU KNOW, JUST THE ELEVATION WAS, YOU KNOW, NEVER ENDING THE DIFFICULTY OF THE ROUTE REINFORCED WHAT HE’S LEARNED FIRSTHAND. WHEN LIFE GETS HARD, KEEP GOING. NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH, ALWAYS TRY TO FIND THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. AND SOMETIMES THAT LIGHT IS ACTUALLY BURNT OUT. BUT YOU JUST KEEP DIGGING AND KEEP DIGGING. AGAIN, I HEARD SO MANY REMARKABLE STORIES ALONG THE WAY. WE HAD SOMEBODY THAT BEAT BRAIN CANCER, LUNG CANCER TWICE, AND AT THE END OF HIS JOURNEY, FAMILY AND FRIENDS CHEERING HIM ON AND HIS FIVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ARIA. THAT WAS GREAT TO HAVE HER AT THE FINISH LINE. SHE GAVE ME THIS MEDAL AND A SLICE OF PIZZA AND HONESTLY, THAT’S ALL I WANTED. DO YOU THINK YOU’LL DO IT WHEN YOU’RE OLDER? NO NO NO NO. GOOD ANSWER. IT’LL BE HARD TO KEEP THIS THRILL SEEKER AWAY FROM THE NEXT CHALLENGE, BUT FOR NOW, HE’LL ENJOY THE SIMPLE THINGS. I THINK I’M GOING TO JUST EAT A BUNCH OF PIZZA AND RELAX FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT MY NEXT RACE.
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    Updated: 3:08 PM EDT Jul 10, 2025
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    Man, previously bedridden for 2 years, completes record-setting run across length of New Hampshire

    New Hampshire Chronicle | July 9, 2025

    WMUR logo
    Updated: 3:08 PM EDT Jul 10, 2025
    Editorial Standards
    Whether we mean to or not, we all tend to judge people on first impressions.Right away, when you meet Justin DeFlumeri, you're struck by his sense of humor. Even after finishing a feat that would leave most runners out of breath, he's cracking jokes.“I forgot my car at the starting line. I gotta go back," DeFlumeri said, laughing.That starting line is a 3.5-hour journey by car. But DeFlumeri didn't drive. He ran virtually nonstop. “I took about a 1:30 nap in the car today on a backpack, that was really great. I fell asleep on a beach chair for like 30 seconds, which was great,” DeFlumeri said.The 36-year-old from Merrimack ran from New Hampshire's Canadian border to the Massachusetts border -- 197 miles, or the equivalent of almost eight marathons -- in less than five days.To be exact, DeFlumeri said the run took four days, four hours and 56 minutes, faster than anyone in state history.“I honestly feel like the whole state was behind us. We were getting so many honks. It was unbelievable,” DeFlumeri said.DeFlumeri loves a challenge. He's been taking them on his whole life.He played baseball and got into boxing and kickboxing.“They had to do a lumbar puncture because they thought I had blood around my brain and what happened was they put a hole in my spine and I started leaking cerebrospinal fluid,” DeFlumeri said.DeFlumeri was bedridden for two years, and recovery took two more years.When he was finally back on his feet, he ran a 5K and found his new passion.“In two years, I've done over 200 races,” DeFlumeri said.The journey led him to this new challenge, to take on running the length of New Hampshire, from Pittsburg to Nashua.DeFlumeri had a crew of four people to help him along the way.He raised money for the Heather Abbott Foundation, which provides custom prostheses to those who have lost limbs.DeFlumeri ran more than 40 miles a day and did it during the first week of summer, with temperatures hitting the 80s and 90s.“Toughest part was the White Mountains. It was so hard. It was extremely hot and the elevation was just never ending,” DeFlumeri said.The difficulty of the route reinforced what he's learned first-hand. When life gets hard, keep going.“No matter what you're going through, always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel and sometimes, that light is burnt out, but just keep digging and keep digging,” DeFlumeri said. “I heard so many remarkable stories along the way. We had somebody who beat brain cancer, lung cancer twice.”At the end of his journey, family and friends, including his 5-year-old daughter Aria, cheered him on.“That was great to have her at the finish line. She gave me this medal and a slice of pizza. Honestly, that's all I wanted,” DeFlumeri said.It will be hard to keep this thrill-seeker away from the next challenge, but for now, he'll enjoy the simple things.“I think I'm just going to eat a bunch of pizza and relax for a little bit and not even think about my next race,” DeFlumeri said.

    Whether we mean to or not, we all tend to judge people on first impressions.

    New Hampshire Chronicle
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    Right away, when you meet Justin DeFlumeri, you're struck by his sense of humor.

    Even after finishing a feat that would leave most runners out of breath, he's cracking jokes.

    “I forgot my car at the starting line. I gotta go back," DeFlumeri said, laughing.

    That starting line is a 3.5-hour journey by car. But DeFlumeri didn't drive. He ran virtually nonstop.

    “I took about a 1:30 nap in the car today on a backpack, that was really great. I fell asleep on a beach chair for like 30 seconds, which was great,” DeFlumeri said.

    The 36-year-old from Merrimack ran from New Hampshire's Canadian border to the Massachusetts border -- 197 miles, or the equivalent of almost eight marathons -- in less than five days.

    To be exact, DeFlumeri said the run took four days, four hours and 56 minutes, faster than anyone in state history.

    “I honestly feel like the whole state was behind us. We were getting so many honks. It was unbelievable,” DeFlumeri said.

    DeFlumeri loves a challenge. He's been taking them on his whole life.

    He played baseball and got into boxing and kickboxing.

    “They had to do a lumbar puncture because they thought I had blood around my brain and what happened was they put a hole in my spine and I started leaking cerebrospinal fluid,” DeFlumeri said.

    DeFlumeri was bedridden for two years, and recovery took two more years.

    When he was finally back on his feet, he ran a 5K and found his new passion.

    “In two years, I've done over 200 races,” DeFlumeri said.

    The journey led him to this new challenge, to take on running the length of New Hampshire, from Pittsburg to Nashua.

    DeFlumeri had a crew of four people to help him along the way.

    He raised money for the Heather Abbott Foundation, which provides custom prostheses to those who have lost limbs.

    DeFlumeri ran more than 40 miles a day and did it during the first week of summer, with temperatures hitting the 80s and 90s.

    “Toughest part was the White Mountains. It was so hard. It was extremely hot and the elevation was just never ending,” DeFlumeri said.

    The difficulty of the route reinforced what he's learned first-hand. When life gets hard, keep going.

    “No matter what you're going through, always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel and sometimes, that light is burnt out, but just keep digging and keep digging,” DeFlumeri said. “I heard so many remarkable stories along the way. We had somebody who beat brain cancer, lung cancer twice.”

    At the end of his journey, family and friends, including his 5-year-old daughter Aria, cheered him on.

    “That was great to have her at the finish line. She gave me this medal and a slice of pizza. Honestly, that's all I wanted,” DeFlumeri said.

    It will be hard to keep this thrill-seeker away from the next challenge, but for now, he'll enjoy the simple things.

    “I think I'm just going to eat a bunch of pizza and relax for a little bit and not even think about my next race,” DeFlumeri said.