Inspirational marathoners roll their way to the finish line

Post-race update: Dennis McGorty finished the marathon with a time of 1 hour 43 minutes; Dick Traum crossed the finish line in 2 hours 43 minutes 28 seconds.

When Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" croons over the loudspeakers to signal the start of this Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon, Dennis McGorty will be competing in his first marathon ever.

"I've never run more than three miles in my life before," McGorty told CBS News, although the 45-year-old builder and father of two from Westfield, New Jersey, is a former world-class collegiate decathlete at the University of North Carolina.

McGorty was also an avid cyclist until an accident in May 2013 led to a life-changing spinal injury and the loss of the use of his legs.

"I was out on a training ride and actually pretty close to home and was hit and run over by a landscaping truck. That accident led to spinal cord injury," said McGorty. "I survived the unsurvivable, they said."

"My two kids were three and five at the time. My wife Anita's and my main focus was trying to keep their life as normal as possible."

Part of that meant feeling strong again and returning to athletics, which McGorty loves.

"Your whole life is turned upside down in an instant. Sometimes I just wanted to go sit in a corner, but I have these two little smiling faces jump on me in the morning. You don't have a choice not to be a dad today," he said.

McGorty is entering the marathon -- which drew more than 50,000 participants last year -- as a hand cyclist. While he hasn't run more than three miles on foot, he has been training for the marathon for 12 weeks and has hand cycled up to 17 miles, nine miles less than the marathon's full length of 26.2 miles. But he said he feels ready, and that his competitive spirit will kick in at the starting line.

There are 75 hand cyclists racing this year, said Chris Weiller, TCS New York City Marathon spokesperson.

McGorty is competing in the race as part of Team Reeve for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, raising funds to support research and people living with paralysis. Team Reeve boasts 65 participants in this year's New York City Marathon.

McGorty said he's hoping to cross the finish line in under two hours.

"You can sit in the corner or you can go out and live your life and I owe it to my family to believe in my life and still be a husband and be a dad. I won't give up on them. They'll be at the finish line."

While McGorty is heading into his first marathon experience, fellow hand cyclist Dick Traum, who turns 75 years old in November, is racking up his 25th New York City Marathon.

"The first time I raced it was in 1976 as the marathon's first amputee. I ran on an artificial leg and was the first amputee anywhere to run a marathon on an artificial leg," said Traum, an above-the-knee amputee. He lost most of his right leg when he was 24; he was standing behind a car at a gas station when another car hit him.

About 15 years ago, Traum underwent knee replacement surgery on his good leg and shifted to using a hand cycle during races. A Manhattan resident, he trains three days a week in Central Park.

"Been doing it for 40 years," he said.

In 1983, Traum founded the Achilles Track Club, now known as Achilles International, a non-profit organization that provides athletes with disabilities with a community of support. Over the years, Achilles has also developed specialized programs for children and war veterans.

Traum has competed in marathons all over the world and this weekend's race will mark his 56th marathon in all. He said his favorite part of the New York City race is heading up First Avenue, around the 17th mile.

"The beauty is that it's straight ahead and people are screaming their heads off on both sides, cheering," he said. "The crowds are the best in the world."

When it comes to post-race celebrations, the two cyclists have very different plans.

"After the Reeve Foundation party, my family is going to Disney World," said McGorty.

As for Traum, after he visits with and congratulates friends in the marathon reception area, he said, chuckling, "I plan to go home and take a nap."