When our son William was an infant, my husband and I learned about a father who ran marathons while pushing his son in his wheelchair. Like William, his son had experienced complications at birth and was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. As runners and parents to a child with special needs, my husband and I resonated with this father’s sacrifice for his child.
We were thrilled to learn about an organization called Athletes Serving Athletes (ASA) which empowers individuals living with disabilities to train and compete in mainstream running events by pairing them up with a “wingman” who will push them throughout the race. When we learned about their annual ASA Runfest, we did not hesitate to support this organization by taking part together as a family.
RunFest was such a family-friendly event. We pushed William in his wheelchair, his 5-year-old and 8-year-old siblings enjoyed the 5k walk, and friends and family joined us as well. We even dressed the kids up in their Halloween outfits, and watched our fellow walkers/runners in their Halloween costumes. And of course, there were the post-run activities and goodies that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.
We loved that William could be with us. William loves being outdoors and loves the stimulation and excitement of people around him. As parents of William and being runners ourselves, we have experienced firsthand the rush of joy and accomplishment when crossing the finish line at the end of a race. Even though we decided to walk, we were glad that William could experience that same rush as he enjoyed the outdoors, the movement across the pavement, and the energy of those around him.