This Marine veteran and amputee just finished the Boston Marathon

Jose Luis Sanchez was a Marine sergeant serving in Helmand province in 2011 when he stepped on an IED and lost his leg in the blast. On Apr. 18, 2016, he ran the Boston Marathon to show support for the victims of the bombings there three years ago.

His Apr. 18 race in Boston as part of Team Semper Fi was his second marathon. He ran his first in the Oct. 2015 Marine Corps Marathon where, with the help of others, he finished despite fracturing his leg and busting his knee.

"It was my first marathon ever," Sanchez told UPROXX. "I was just so motivated by everyone else's love and support. My mind was like, 'Yeah, man. You can f-cking do it!"

Sanchez wanted to run the Boston Marathon as a show of solidarity with the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. Sanchez's history as an IED survivor put him in a unique place to understand their pain and to show support.

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"It hit me in January or February," he said, "and I just felt that I had to run the Boston Marathon. I wanted to run the race and support the bombing survivors, to show them that life goes on and all you have to do is just push through it."

The urge to drive others and to prove himself physically was what powered Sanchez during his time as a Marine.

"I always tried to motivate others, like my Marines," Sanchez said. "I'd push them as much as I could, encouraging them to always go after it. Even after a long patrol in Afghanistan, I was the guy who'd say, 'Let's go workout. Let's do push-ups. Let's do squats.' I was always that type of guy. Going to the gym, taking groups on long runs, doing PT."

(h/t UPROXX. Check out their full interview with Sanchez. You can also follow Sanchez on Instagram or show support to members of Team Semper Fi at their website.)