Proof Positive<\/a>, which works to enhance the lives of autistic people, their families and communities \u2014 signed him up for the Philadelphia Marathon and later connected him with Philly Achilles so that he could have guides to run with him and help him navigate the aspects of the race that would be most challenging for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_8823-1.jpg\")
Sebastian Gomez with Philly Achilles race guides during a training session. (Courtesy of Philly Achilles)<\/p>\n
Gomez attended his first Saturday morning training session with Philly Achilles in September, where he met Aiello and Fitton. The three found a comfortable cadence and matched well for Gomez\u2019s goal of finishing in under 3\u00bd hours. Aiello, a 25-year-old med student at Penn who\u2019s been volunteering with Philly Achilles for a year, ran the Philly Marathon last year and the New York City Marathon earlier this month. Fitton, a 31-year-old Bryn Mawr native working in tech, had nine years with Achilles International \u2014 in New York, San Francisco and Philly \u2014 and three marathons under his belt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While on long runs, the three would talk about running, family, pets and sports. Gomez would ask them questions about Philly running and themselves, and write the answers down on the Notes app on his phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They did a few more Saturday long runs together, while also training independently back home. Gomez\u2019s mother said his training never wavered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel like we\u2019re trying to overcome autism and in this setting his autism was such an asset,\u201d Curran recalled. \u201cHis love of structure, his love of hitting paces. I mean he did not miss a single training run. He ran exactly the goal pace as he said.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiello was also struck by how disciplined Gomez\u2019s training regime was going.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually in a person\u2019s first marathon build, there\u2019s a lot of roadblocks and setbacks because it\u2019s the first time you\u2019re running these like ginormous mileage runs,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd every time I checked in with him, he hit a new longest run. He got up to 22 miles, and it was always at his eight-minute pace, which is just extremely impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Top notch and, quite honestly, unexpected\u2019<\/p>\n
On race day, Gomez woke up in his hotel at 4:30 a.m., had some breakfast, then made his way to the start line on the Ben Franklin Parkway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since being in a crowded corral with thousands of runners would be challenging for Gomez, Aiello and Philly Achilles helped to get him a starting position at the front with the wheelchair racers \u2014 a perk that also made him a race leader for a brief few minutes before the elite runners were unleashed.<\/p>\n
Fitton joined at mile 13, there as a safeguard in case Aiello needed a breather, and to help keep the momentum going.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-25-at-11.03.59-AM.jpg\")
Karen Curran (center) and other family and friends cheer on Sebastian Gomez along the route of the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday. (Courtesy of Proof Positive)<\/p>\n
Both guides were instructed to check in on Gomez verbally throughout the run, in case he was in distress but not saying anything. The response every time was some variation of \u201cI\u2019m great,\u201d and an infectious positivity that they returned in kind by hyping the crowd up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, I noticed he was doing the same thing,\u201d Fitton said. \u201cSo he was enjoying it and getting excited by the attention and the energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
When they crossed the finish line, Gomez and Aiello had both set a new marathon personal best. Fitton decided to check one more time how Gomez was doing, this time getting a little more specific.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked, \u2018How are your legs doing?\u2019 thinking we might get a different answer. And he said \u2018great,\u2019 \u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd I was like \u2018Really, man? You just ran 26 miles.\u2019\u00a0 He thought about it for a second, then he said, \u2018You know, I guess they\u2019re pretty tired.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust getting out there and being active does a lot. And then having a community does a lot,\u201d Fitton said. \u201cAnd you put those two things together and it can be really powerful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fitton said that the group have a future meetup planned at Pizzeria Bedia, for them \u201cto all carbo load even after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natalie Tine, the coordinator of Philly Achilles\u2019 marathon weekend, said that around 70 runners and a dozen volunteers were involved in this year\u2019s race. They supported four athletes with 10 guides. Its current reach is 34 chapters in 17 countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe personalization to ensure that the race is accessible was top notch and, quite honestly, unexpected,\u201d Curran said \u201cIt blew our mind. If you had told us 20 years ago that this is where we would be at 23, that both society, the community would be accepting and as accessible, and he would be working this hard to accomplish his goals. It seemed out of reach 20 years ago and there were many, many tears shed yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gomez\u2019s reward for finishing his first marathon was a three-day rest from running, which he planned to spend in his man cave, doing puzzles, watching movies and sports and other stuff.<\/p>\n
After that, it\u2019ll be time to start preparing for the Maine Coast Marathon next May<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very steady, pretty quick. I mean, if he\u2019s running this fast in his very first marathon, then I\u2019m excited to see where he ends up as I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll only get faster and better if he sticks with it, which it seems like he\u2019s going to,\u201d Fitton said.<\/p>\n
Gomez\u2019s advice for anyone thinking of running their first marathon?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should join a team,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd maybe you should try to join a team and don\u2019t quit.\u201d<\/p>\n
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