Ray Skoglund can’t wait to come back and see his firefighter buddies at the Duluth Fire Department.

The 25-year-old has been gone since being hit by a vehicle at the end of January.

He’d been on a training run for Grandma’s Marathon.

At Craig Hospital in Colorado, and now QLI in Nebraska, he’s making great strides in his recovery.

Since he can’t run the marathon like he’d planned, about a dozen of his firefighting co-workers are doing it instead.

“We’re calling it Running with Ray, not for Ray. The thought behind it is he’s doing hard things in recovery, and we can do hard things with him,” explained fellow firefighter and friend, Katie Sandstrom.

Plus, it helps motivate them to keep going, even when they don’t want to. “This training has been a way to feel connected him with him, even when he’s not here physically with us,” she added.

Still, a few of them have visited him during his stay out west.

About a dozen of them will be wearing Running with Ray shirts during the marathon or the half marathon.

Ray sent us a statement, which reads, “The Duluth Fire Department has been by my side since the beginning of this journey and I am incredibly thankful. They were with my family and I, giving support while at Essentia in Duluth. and the firefighters continue to visit me while I was at Craig Hospital in Colorado and now QLI in Omaha.

The DFD members also make sure I do not have anything to be concerned about back home by helping me and my family with projects while we’re away.

I couldn’t have gone through this journey without the incredible support from DFD, my family, and our amazing Duluth community. It was incredible to see how fast everyone came together to help with my recovery and I will be forever thankful.

DFD members and others continue to show encouragement by running Grandma’s Marathon wearing matching shirts to show their support.

I am very excited to see them finish, and I wish I could be there in person to give those members a big hug when they do. Thank you Duluth firefighters, my family, friends, community and Grandma’s Marathon for all the love and support. i will never forget the role DFD had in my recovery.”

Other firefighters will be lining the course as support teams, cheering the group on.

Sandstrom added, “I think firefighters are always trying to pick each other up and help each other out. That’s the culture of Duluth Fire, and we’re sticking with one of our own.”

Here’s his CaringBridge: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/raymondskoglund

Here’s his GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ayc6n-raising-for-ray?qid=5833d5f9bd0da26a7c5224c76932b5c9