Omar Duran, a Texas native, spent 8 years in the Army in the mid 2000’s as a Cav. Scout, deploying all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan during the OIF & OEF conflicts, before being severely wounded in 2011. Omar was a Staff Sergeant assigned to 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment while on a mission during his 6th deployment to the middle east when everything went astray. While in the middle of a fire fight the team descended down a rocky cliffside on a goat path, Omar was in the rear when a team member in front stepped on a pressure plate and set off an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast instantly killed 90 percent of his team and the violent shockwave from the explosion sent Omar airborne down the cliffside.
Omar sustained extensive life-threatening injuries from both the blast and the impact of the fall. The medevac team that rescued him had to resuscitate him multiple times. Once stabilized and knew he was going to survive he was flown back stateside to Walter Reed Medical Center where he would spend the next two years rehabilitating and recovering.
Omar’s plan was to be a career soldier. His upbringing was not one you document in scrapbooks. His family business included dealing drugs, biker gangs, and prison time. Omar wanted a different life and enlisting in the Army gave him an outlet and opportunity he wouldn’t have had otherwise. Omar loved being a soldier and took full advantage, he jumped at every school and training opportunity they allowed him to do. Airborne, Pathfinder, Seer, Ranger, Sniper, Air Assault, etc. And it was all ripped away from him. Even as a teenager and young adult Omar was drawn to physically demanding jobs and challenges. He rode bareback horses in the rodeo, worked on oil rigs, was a ranch hand, ran marathons, jumped out of airplanes, raced street cars. So, to find himself in a hospital bed, staring down the barrel of forced retirement without eyesight (at the time), his jaw wired shut, a spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures and broken bones throughout his whole body, and PTSD he decided to make plans to take his own life. Then, by some divine intervention, one of his nurses at Walter Reed invited him to a cycling group where he was introduced to para-cycling or handcycling.
Handcycling gave Omar a much-needed outlet and has allowed him to heal in ways no medicine could provide. In 2013, Omar was chosen to be a part of an 8-man wounded veteran team to compete in Race Across America or RAAM. A 3,000-mile cycling event considered the world’s toughest endurance race. The race begins in Oceanside, CA and ends in Annapolis, MD. It’s a race that runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week until they cross the finish line. It was here where Omar crossed paths with his now wife, Jill. Jill happened to be volunteering as a part of the support crew for this team. Jill and Omar became quick friends and hung out every day in California during the lead up and preparations for the start of the race. When Omar asked to take Jill on a date, she told him that he needed to ride his bike 3,000 miles and then they’ll talk!
The team finished RAAM in 7 days 12 hours & 21 minutes in July 2013 and by October 2013, Omar moved to Florida to be with Jill. One year later in October 2014, after Omar raced 26.2 miles in the Marine Corp Marathon in Arlington, VA on his handcycle, he proposed at the finish line. Jill’s lightening up on the miles Omar’s required to work for!
They were married in July 2015 and currently live in Clearwater, FL with their two dogs Tyse (Yorkie) and Gunner (Belgian Malinois). When they aren’t driving across the country on road trips, Jill works as a digital marketing director for a technology finance company and owns her own digital marketing business. While Omar can be found training and riding his handcycle on the daily. They both are heavily involved and volunteer throughout the year. They work with their family’s charity rodeo events in Texas that support children in need. As well as supporting different veteran charities that help veterans heal through sport, especially cycling!
