Sunday, November 3rd was one of the highlights of his career as he tackled the daunting New York City Marathon for thousands of runners from around the world.

For Nev Schulman, this was a particularly incredible achievement. Schulman, the reality show star of ‘Catfish’, laced up his running shoes and joined the race. The impressive part about this isn’t seeing a celebrity run a marathon, it’s that Schulman broke his neck in a bike accident three months ago and is still able to run the race.

he said New York Post“I remember the look on every nurse and doctor’s face when they walked into the room for the first time… they expected me to be paralyzed, they were so surprised and almost confused.”

The bicycle accident occurred in early August while he was on his way to pick up his son. While trying to merge lanes, he collided with a truck. He was transported to Stony Brook Hospital after learning he had broken his neck.

While Schulman was recovering, he wondered when he could return to his passion, running. According to the New York Post, he ran in the marathon last year as a guide for blind athlete Francesco Magisano. This year, Schulman had planned to skip the race, but received a tempting message from Magisano.

Schulman told the New York Post that he didn’t want Magisano scheduled to be his guide this year, to which Magisano responded: “Nev, I want to make this work with you. I don’t care how fast or slow we go. If you think you have the chance to do it.” If you feel it, I will wait.”

After spending more time recovering, his doctors allowed him to run, and he eventually completed his eighth marathon alongside his friend Francesco Magisano.

“This was a big deal for me. Exactly 3 months ago I wasn’t sure if I would be able to run again, and today I proved to myself that anything is possible with the right amount of commitment, determination and support,” Schulman wrote on her instagram.

In the post, she thanked her family, friends, and medical staff for everything they did to help her through this difficult journey. Their joy could be felt from a distance as the duo crossed the finish line on Sunday.