Marathon Miner: "I Was Running for Life" in Dark

Chilean miner Edison Pena arrived in the United States on Thursday to try to run the New York City Marathon, and said that he was "running for life" when he jogged through the tunnels while trapped nearly a mile underground for more than two months.

"It's a dream come true," Pena said of arriving in New York City to run in the marathon.

Pena added that conditions in the mine made it difficult to exercise - it was pitch black and more than 85 degrees - but he wanted to show that he wasn't just "waiting around" and that he could "beat destiny."

"I wanted to be an active participant in my own salvation," he said. "When I ran in the darkness, I was running for life."

Pena was one of the 33 miners whose saga captivated the world when they were trapped for 69 days after an Aug. 5 collapse stranded them nearly a half-mile underground.

Chile Mine Rescue: Complete Coverage
Pictures: Chile Mine Rescue

The 34-year-old Pena looked quite comfortable surrounded by more than 100 media members at a news conference. He even sang a few lines from his beloved Elvis Presley, whose music helped him through those daily 6 or 7-mile runs in the mine. Earlie, Pena received an invitation to visit Graceland.

Pena was still glowing over who greeted him at the airport when he flew in Thursday morning - world-record holder Haile Gebrselassie.

"He couldn't believe Haile was there to greet him, and he gave him a big hug," New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said after returning from meeting him at the airport.

Wittenberg said about 150 Chileans who had previously signed up to run the marathon were on two flights from the country into John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday, and they all lined up to cheer as he got off the plane.

"He came out, and they started cheering for him, and he was cheering with them," she said. "He was clearly a bit overwhelmed by it all."

Marathon officials invited Pena to attend after hearing about how he jogged in the mines while trapped underground. They were surprised to learn Monday that the triathlete wanted to run the race.

Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian star, is running his first NYC Marathon. He was joined at the airport by 2004 New York champion Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa.

Pena also taped an appearance on the "The Late Show" with David Letterman on Thursday afternoon.

"The first time I walked into a mine I wanted to turn around and get out, but that wasn't really an option, so I kept going deeper and deeper into the mine," Pena told Letterman through a translator. "I kept saying couldn't we just turn around?"

"A lot of people feel that way about appearing on the show," Letterman quipped.

Watch a clip of the appearance below: