Human Race

Elite runner Brandon Hudgins had the storybook ending to a remarkable comeback at the 2016 Olympic Track Trials. Over eight years, he fought three relapses of a rare form of the autoimmune disease vasculitis to qualify in the 1,500 meters. When the disease strikes, it attacks the very organs needed to run fast—the blood vessels that transport oxygen to muscles. In a matter of weeks during a relapse, he can go from being able to run a mile in under four minutes, to barely being able to plod through one in 15. He’s suffered depression and anxiety because of his health, maxed out credit cards, and had to quit his job because he is too sick to work. But in spite of these biological, mental, and financial obstacles, in front of his parents, friends, coach, and 20,000 spectators on a sopping, rainy Hayward field in Eugene, Oregon, he placed ninth in a semi-final heat—the highlight of his professional career. This week, we explore what happened after that storybook comeback in 2016. Brandon wants to run faster, to c