RICHMOND, VA. ? Two years ago, Len Geiger was near death, suffering from a severe case of genetic emphysema.

On Saturday, Geiger participated in his first marathon, accompanied by the father of the 14-year-old girl whose lungs were used in a double-lung transplant to save his life.

Because of the extensive damage to his lower body, Geiger did a “race walk” instead of running the course, while Kevin Shroyer slowly jogged alongside him. It took the pair more than six hours to finish, but Shroyer didn’t mind.

“When I’m running with him, it’s all about us and it’s all about Korinne, and that’s as close as I will ever again come to running with my daughter,” Shroyer said before the race. “So I don’t mind savoring every minute I’m out there with him.”

The race helps benefit organ and tissue donation programs for the Donate Life Partnership of LifeNet and the United Network for Organ Sharing, the Richmond nonprofit organization that maintains the national list of those awaiting transplants. More than two dozen people affected by organ donation run as part of the Donate Life team.

In 2002, Geiger’s lungs were barely functioning and his hip bones had deteriorated from his steroid medication, requiring a total hip replacement.

At the same time, Shroyer’s once-vivacious daughter, Korinne, lay in a hospital, about to die from what Shroyer said was a Paxil-induced suicide. The government has warned that the antidepressant may be linked to an increased risk of suicide in children.

Shroyer and his wife, Kristie, overwhelmed with grief, drew on their faith and decided to have Korinne’s organs donated. Her lungs went to Geiger, a 45-year-old from Gainesville, Ga.

A year went by while Shroyer, 44, of Lynchburg, grieved for the daughter who also had been his best friend. Meanwhile, Geiger’s health quickly improved, and he returned to riding his bicycle.

Double-lung transplant recipient Len Geiger, left, of Gainesville, Ga., and Kevin Shroyer, right, of Lynchburg, Va., hold a photo of Korinne Shroyer, Kevin Shroyer's late daughter, in downtown Richmond, Va. Geiger and Shroyer ran together in the SunTrust Richmond Marathon on Saturday.

During this time, the Shroyers and Geiger started a correspondence, and last fall they arranged to meet in Charlottesville at a LifeNet office.

They soon developed a close bond, and the two men soon realized they shared a love of fitness. They began participating in races together, and on Saturday completed their first marathon, with a time of 6:25:17.

Shroyer, who wears a necklace that belonged to his daughter and a photo of her around his neck when he runs, says he can feel Korinne breathing through Geiger when they race together.

“I believe Korinne is there with us — she’s a part of Len now,” he said.