He was told he might never walk again. Now Auston Duncan could hold a world record

Five years ago, Auston Duncan lay in a hospital bed unable to move his legs. This spring, he finished a half marathon and may have set a world record in the process.

During his first attempt at snowboarding, the U.S. Air Force veteran crashed into trees at Keystone Resort. That accident, on Veterans Day 2021, left him with two broken ribs, a punctured lung and a serious spinal cord injury.

Doctors couldn’t say whether he would ever walk again.

Duncan, now a Psychology student at Metropolitan State University of Denver, recently finished a half marathon in Ventura, Calif. while pursuing what could become a Guinness World Record for an incomplete paraplegic completing a half marathon without assistive devices.

The accomplishment represents more than a personal milestone.

Duncan said the race was dedicated to everyone facing obstacles that seem impossible to overcome.

“This race was actually going to be dedicated to the disabled community,” he said. “I don’t tend to like to do things only for myself.”

Duncan spent 10 years in the U.S. Air Force, working in Security Forces, the military’s law-enforcement branch. After the accident, he endured months of treatment that included time in the intensive-care unit and inpatient rehabilitation and recovery at Denver’s Craig Hospital.

The physical injuries were only part of the challenge.

He battled depression and suicidal thoughts during his recovery. Through inpatient and outpatient mental-health treatment, the Wounded Warrior Project and adaptive sports such as wheelchair basketball, rugby and swimming, he slowly began rebuilding his confidence and sense of purpose.

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Eventually, that purpose led him to MSU Denver and a new relationship with fitness. He became a regular at the University’s campus recreation center and gym, where he met Zavon Kraske, an Exercise-Sciences graduate who now serves as an MSU Denver fitness coordinator and lead personal trainer. What started as casual conversations around workouts evolved into a close friendship. “I admire Auston,” Kraske said. “He’s such a strong individual.”

When Duncan asked Kraske to travel to California with him as an official witness for the Guinness World Record attempt, the answer came quickly.

“You’re going to get me to go to California to help you set a world record and give me the excuse to be with family? Absolutely”, Kraske said.

Kraske spent the race riding alongside Duncan on a bicycle equipped with a GoPro camera, documenting the effort and offering encouragement through every mile. Guinness World Records requires independent witnesses, making Kraske’s participation essential.

By the final miles, Duncan was exhausted and hurting. But he kept moving.

“The little shrinking voice in my head that was saying, ‘Don’t stop. Just cross that finish line’ — that was the voice I was working to listen to,” he said.

For Duncan, the race was about demonstrating what’s possible for people facing adversity and reminding others that growth rarely comes without discomfort.

“I don’t know about anybody who’s reached their full potential,” he said.

The official Guinness decision is pending. But regardless of the outcome, Duncan views the experience as another step in a journey that once seemed unimaginable.

His personal philosophy remains simple: “Be afraid after.”