When Sabik Cochran crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon, he felt it all at once.
It wasn’t because he completed one of the world’s most iconic races. It wasn’t just because he ran 26.2 miles. That was because somewhere during that run, the schedule he envisioned for himself changed completely.
“It was crazy because I was like, ‘We did it,’ Cochran said. “I didn’t really know how well I was doing until the last two or three miles. Then I said, “Hold on, we’re going to PR 12 minutes. So at the end I shot it, and when I crossed that finish line…I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s no way.’
During the competition, there were several emotions. As the mile markers passed, so did the personal bests. Cochran watched as his 10 mile PR was set. As long as life was for him, he kept his head up and kept moving.
For Cochran, a double amputee from the Chicago area who was born without femurs and ankles, the Boston Marathon wasn’t just another race. It was proof that even the ceiling he once imagined for himself might not exist at all.
Unlimited growth
Cochran had both legs amputated at the age of two and received prosthetics at the age of four. Sympathy was not the tone of his household. It was a perspective.
“My mom and grandma always say you can’t change it, it’s you,” she says. “So I’ve always had the mindset of, ‘Nobody’s coming but you. You have to do it yourself.”
This mindset shaped his approach to sports. He was not interested in sitting on the sidelines or being treated differently. At Schaumburg High School, he played football, wrestled, played lacrosse, basketball, and was active whenever he could. There were no restrictions.
But strangely enough, running was not a part of this personality at first. In fact, he spent most of his younger years avoiding it whenever he could.
“I’ve never run other than lacrosse,” Cochran says with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have legs, so I can’t do these laps.’ I always let myself go. “
That changed when he finally got a running prosthesis in October 2024 after years of wanting to do so. And that changed everything.
Running has become more than fitness
Like those who later take up endurance sports, Cochran says the miles ended up being more than a workout.
“Running healed my youth,” he says. “Not that I felt like I was missing anything, but I always felt like I knew I could be fast. You see people with these prosthetics, and I knew I could be fast.”
Once he gained access to running onions, there was no turning back. The running community immediately embraced him, especially after he completed the Chicago Marathon in under four hours during his first attempt.
Cochran didn’t know how well he was doing until he surprised others that it was his first marathon. What surprised him most was not the attention. This was the effect.
He recalled receiving a message from a physical therapist who brought a patient who had recently lost a leg to one of his races. The man’s spirits were low, but he was brightened by seeing and hearing about Cochran’s achievements.
Moments like these changed the way he behaved.
“You have to keep every moment in front of people with a little bit of poise,” he says. “You never know who’s watching and might be inspired by what you’re doing.”
Pain
While Cochran’s story may seem inspiring from the outside, the physical side of marathon training can be brutal at times.
Before the Chicago Marathon, he trained with prosthetics that were not designed for distance running. The accumulation of sweat inside the packs caused constant pain and instability.
“I had to clean my leg every two to three miles,” he says. “I said my legs are bleeding. I need to move around the house.”
There were moments when frustration overwhelmed him because there had to be another way. Eventually, doctors adjusted the fit, added padding, and introduced an antiperspirant spray that changed everything.
“The Chicago Marathon was my first race where I didn’t have to stop at all,” he says. “First formality, honestly.”
Getting used to the treadmill was a learning curve. Running into them for the first time, he realized something almost immediately: he didn’t know how to stop.
“The first time I ran, I screamed,” she says. “I was like, ‘I could just die on this floor.’
Air conditioning was another major improvement. Unlike the sports he participated in throughout high school, distance running required consistent output without breaks, forcing him to learn speed almost entirely through trial and error. His longest run before the Chicago Marathon was about four miles.
Now, as the distance increases and marathon times decrease, Cochran’s goals have evolved just as quickly.
He is not done dreaming yet
At 27, Cochran is already on bigger stages and bigger accomplishments. One of them is to run all the major marathons in the world before the age of 30.
But there is another goal that makes him even tougher.
“A double amputation world record,” he says. “I want that record. I’m coming for that record, of course.”
The current world record is 2:40:25and while Cochran knows how ambitious that sounds, he has never lowered his expectations.
“A lot of people want to call 27,” he says. “But LeBron got his first ring at 27.”
Outside of racing, he hopes running and content creation will eventually become his full focus. Currently, she balances exercise, social media and her day job at Dick’s Sporting Goods, often stretching her weeks to about 70 hours.
The thought of putting more effort into creating and creating his content to continue to inspire others in his mind. He also likes to start a running club, do some speaking. Most of all, he wants people to see opportunity when they see him.
“If they could look at me and be like, ‘Okay, he’s doing it. I can do it too,” that’s what I want,” Cochran said. “Running teaches you to trust yourself and to believe. I have 100 percent faith and belief in everything I do now. And running has helped me do that.”
