Wounded veterans showed courage and determination on Saturday as they raced in the eighth annual Achilles Hope and Possibility Run in Central Park. NY1's Samuel King filed the following report.

Prince Harry of Britain attracted a lot of attention as he walked through Central Park on Saturday, but in the end he was just one of more than 5,000 people who tried to show at the eighth-annual Achilles Hope and Possibility Run on Saturday that nothing, not even disabilities, can stop anyone from achieving goals.

Tricia Meili, who is known as the "Central Park Jogger," was brutally attacked and raped in Central Park in 1989. She founded the Hope and Possibility Run to help celebrate human spirit.

"The fact that's it's grown from, when we started in 2003, a couple of hundred people, to more than 5,000 today, to me that speaks to how our message of hope and possibility is spreading," said Meili.

The race was part of a series of events by Achilles International. Dick Traum, who founded the organization in 1983, was the first amputee to run the New York City Marathon.

"I thought it would be nice to take the joy I had personally and to expand it, so we set up a program to introduce people with disabilities to running," said Traum.

Starting in 2004, Traum invited wounded veterans to take part and organized the Achilles Freedom Team, which is made up of men and women who served in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts.

Sunday's course ran five miles through Central Park, up and down the slightly rolling hills. As part of his visit to the city, Prince Harry joined the Freedom Team during part of course.

Dustin Teller, an Iraq War veteran, said the race is a motivation to never give up.

"They feel like they're on top of the world, because they didn't think they could. They've been sitting in a bed for who knows how long, six months or a year, thinking down on themselves, but now they have something to look toward to," said Teller.

Participants said the Achilles Run is about more than crossing the finish line, like having more confidence in life.

Elyse Levine of Far Rockaway, Queens trained for weeks to get ready.

"I wanted to increase my upper body strength and be a part of something I really enjoy," said Levine.

Achilles International sponsors similar runs across the country. For more information, visit www.achillesinternational.org.