Running Man

By Valerie Wishaar

Times are tough. Sometimes finding hope to move forward and to have confidence that everything is going to be ok is even tougher. Luckily for people residing in Shoreline, there is a living symbol of hope that has been running all around town. Literally.

His name is Lamont Thomas, though he goes by L.J., and if you live in Shoreline you’ve probably seen him. He is almost always wearing one of his many basketball jerseys, and if he’s not running, he’s at least walking pretty fast. Oh, and he has a bit of a limp.

It is a limp he earned through hard work and perseverance, and while many might consider it a handicap, for L.J. it represents an achievement that doctors said would never happen. When he was just 18 months old, L.J. got out of his car seat and ran out into the road. He darted between two cars before he was hit and summarily dragged for 100 feet. He was lucky to survive, but the prognosis was bleak. The doctors said he would be in a body cast his entire life. Said he would never mature beyond the mental capacity of an eight-year-old. Said he would never walk again. He proved them all wrong.

Today L.J. is nearly 23 years old, works at a real estate agency, has taken law classes at Shoreline Community College, and is clearly smarter than a third grader. But it’s the physical battle L.J. has fought, and continues to fight, that is the most impressive. As a result of the accident the right side of L.J.’s body is paralyzed. He has been in a full body cast, had poles implanted into his legs, and had hip resurfacing surgery. He spent years training with a walker, and after his hip surgery at the age of 17, the doctors told him he might finally be able to walk unaided in six months. He did it in three. They told him he would walk, but he showed us all he would rather run.

And thus, Shoreline’s own folk hero, running-man legend emerged. In a typical week L.J. runs an average of 47 miles; one week he even upped the mileage to 83. That’s more than a D1 college cross country runner will typically train at. With all that running, he has become a familiar sight for the locals. On Facebook a fan page was created in January called Random Guy Who Walks Around Richmond Beach In Basketball Jerseys. It already has over 1,000 fans and is climbing steadily every day. If you ever thought small, symbolic acts will go unnoticed, think again. One look at the wall posts and it’s clear that just by running, L.J. is impacting an entire community.

They say “when times get tough the tough get going.” L.J. has been going strong his entire life and is a testament to the power of a strong will and a hard work ethic. He is a living lesson we can all learn from, and is a local hero we should all embrace. Next time you are feeling down or are looking for a heavy dose of inspiration, either check out his FB fan page, or hit up the streets of Shoreline. Chances are he will be running around there somewhere.

Information for this story was referenced from the BackWoodsBlog.