Darien Shark Attack Victim To Run In New York City Marathon

DARIEN, CT — Ten days before a shark bit off her foot and part of her leg in Turks and Caicos in 2023, Darien resident Ali Truwit ran a marathon with her mother on Mother's Day.

Moments after the shark attack that changed her life, Truwit recalled lying on a boat and looking up at a first responder named Matthew, and saying, "Well, at least I got my marathon in before this."

Matthew promptly replied, "You'll run another one."

"Well, Matthew, you were right," Truwit said in a video posted to her Facebook page in August. "I will run another one. I am so excited and a lot nervous to announce that this fall I will be running the New York City Marathon alongside none other than my mom and a team of so many incredible friends and family as we work to raise money for my nonprofit, Stronger Than You Think."

Since her marathon announcement, Truwit has posted several videos of herself training for the 26.2-mile haul. The marathon is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Truwit outlined her morning routine in getting ready to run, which includes allowing time for swelling in her leg to go down before she can put on her running blade prosthetic.

In her most recent video posted Friday, Truwit said she ran a total of four out of 34 planned miles this week - her ninth training for the big race. She currently has a blister on her leg near where her prosthetic hits and rubs, and she needs to let it heal.

"I'm doing my best to remind myself that much like my path to the Paralympics, the road to our goals can be, and often is, bumpy and imperfect, and we can still achieve them," she said.

A swimmer by trade and a Darien resident since 2006, Truwit swam for both Wee Burn Country Club and the Tokeneke Club in town. She graduated from St. Luke's School in New Canaan, and attended Yale University where she was a Division 1 swimmer in 2023.

In 2024, Truwit earned two silver medals at the Paralympic Games in Paris after winning the 100M backstroke and the 400M freestyle. She broke American records in both events, swimming the backstroke in 1:08:59 and the freestyle in 4:31:39.

Truwit received a hero's welcome in Darien last September when the town celebrated her triumphs.

In brief comments in Grove Street Plaza, Truwit spoke about what the community support has meant to her, from the moment she lost her leg to the two times she stood on the podium in Paris to receive her medals.

She recalled a send-off event in Darien the month prior which saw people lining the Post Road to wish her luck in Paris.

"It sent me the message, and anyone else watching, that we're already enough, and we've done enough hard work to be celebrated regardless of medals or shiny achievements."

Truwit's nonprofit, Stronger Than You Think, supports women and girls with limb loss by funding prosthetics, promoting water safety to prevent drownings, and empowering Paralympic athletes with resources to compete.

"After the shark attack and amputation, I thought my running days were over. Running had been my therapy and my joy, but the thought of learning to run again on a prosthetic felt impossible," Truwit says on the Stronger Than You Think website. "But with a running blade, a lot of work and incredible support, the impossible started to become possible."

As of Friday morning, Truwit has raised over $56,000 for her 2025 New York City Marathon campaign.

More information can be found here.