COPPELL, Texas — When Michael Higgins moved to Coppell from Georgia two years ago, it was the beginning of the end.
After seven years, his marriage ended abruptly and without family or friends nearby, Higgins felt alone.
“It was hard. It was really hard,” Higgins said. “Just not having any support system nearby, it was horrible. Just horrible. Lowest point of my life for sure.”
Spiraling toward a dark place, Higgins says he found his way out in Antarctica.
Higgins is a runner and he’d always heard about this marathon in Antarctica.
It was always a pipe dream. It was too far, too hard and too unrealistic, which is what now made it all too perfect.
“I have three sons and I would never want them to see this decrepit, beaten down version of their dad,” Higgins said. “I wanted to do something where it would be like a guiding beacon. Whenever I had a down moment, I had something to focus on.”
With his sights set on healing, Higgins went to Antarctica hoping just to finish.
He never imagined that he’d finish first. After winning, he was overcome by emotion.
“As bad as 2023 could have been, this was a really telling moment that you can overcome this,” he said. “If I can do this, I can do anything.”
Today, Higgins is in a much better place, but won’t be running for a while. Last month, he slipped on some ice near his home and broke his ankle.
He conquered 26 miles in Antarctica... but couldn’t overcome an icy sidewalk in Texas.
It’ll be months before he can run again, but he’s willing to wait because after going this far, he wants to lead by example.
“Life can hit you very, very hard and unexpectedly,” Higgins said. “I would hope that people that are going through something similar in life, if they’re going through something hard they would look at a story like this and say, ‘I can prevail from this. I will prevail from this.’ They can do this as well.”
That doesn’t mean going to Antarctica or doing something drastic. Rather, Higgins said, find something inspiring and run with it.
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