The Boston Marathon will have a special pair of participants on Monday.

Bobby Carpenter, the first American-born player to be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, will push Denna Laing all 42 kilometres.

Laing has been wheelchair-bound since crashing into the boards head-first during the Women’s Winter Classic on Dec. 31, 2015.

The 25-year-old wasn’t too sure about the idea at first, but agreed to take part once she found out that Carpenter was racing for Journey Forward, an organization dedicated to those with spinal-cord injuries. Laing has been training with Journey Forward since the injury.

“At first I was a little hesitant just because I didn’t know really how I was going to feel about sitting in a chair,” Laing told NHL.com. “But Bobby said that we would run for Journey Forward and, for me, to help that group out is a no-brainer.

“So I quickly got on board.”

The pair have already raised over $77,000.