Craig Sager Jr. sure represents a lot of what being a great American is all about.
On July 4, Sager Jr. ran in the AJC Peachtree Road Race — a 10K race — less than a day after donating 1.5 liters of bone marrow to his father, Craig Sr., who is battling leukemia.
Craig Jr. finished with a time of 1:19:42, which is 37 minutes slower than his time of around 42 minutes last year. But his time was insignificant when you consider all that he accomplished.
On Thursday, Sager Jr. checked into Northside Hospital at 7:30 a.m. for the bone marrow procedure. 1.5 liters of bone marrow were extracted from two holes in his lower back. He was in the hospital most of the day but managed to get released at 6:00 p.m. so he could go home and rest to prepare for the race.
Running in the Peachtree Road Race is a family tradition for the Sagers, and Craig Jr. did not want to miss it. His dad had done 32 consecutive races, while this was his 10th year in a row doing it. Sager Jr.’s mother and two sisters also ran in the race.
Sager Jr. ran the race while wearing his hospital ID bands and a compression band around his back. He still managed to complete it despite how uncomfortable he felt.
Sager told a family member that running the race in his condition felt “Like I have 2 holes in my back!”
After finishing despite his grueling condition, Sager Jr. headed back to the hospital for a follow-up appointment and to have a bandage removed.
Sager Jr. tweeted about the entire experience from the time of the surgery to after the race. Take a look at all his tweets and photos from the surgery and race below.
Ready for the surgery 2 begin!Incredibly thankful for all the kind words the Sager family has recieved @CraigSagerJr pic.twitter.com/KPI47E4bfT
— Krista Sager (@kristasager) July 3, 2014
The Sagers recovering together. I feel good to go, but more tests. Going on hour 10. pic.twitter.com/PZWihsFycV
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) July 3, 2014
Battle Scars. 12 hours and going strong! pic.twitter.com/9U49H9E3Oa
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) July 3, 2014
My mom apparently took this picture of me all my food & posted it on her Facebook. What the heck?! lol pic.twitter.com/xiuyCnDijF
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) July 3, 2014
See more photos on the next page.
