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This Sunday Team Never Quit will be back in Central Park for another five-mile race. This race is another qualifier, it seems like most of them are qualifiers for next year’s New York City Marathon, well at least nine of them are. The forecast calls for hot and humid, but that’s summer in New York, we have all run in humidity. Unlike other races this one is different — many of the runners truly have the Never Quit mentality, the name of the race is Achilles Hope & Possibility.
Achilles Hope & Possibility is sponsored by Achilles International, an organization whose mission is to enable those with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletic events. The description of this race on the NYRR website is, “This event brings together athletes with disabilities and able-bodied athletes in a celebration of running.” I ran this event last year, believe me many running this race are more than able.
When Esther and I ran this race last year we didn’t know what to expect. We were so moved by the experience, I traded shifts at work to be able run it again this year. This race is not about getting another qualifying race under my belt, this is about the experience.
When we signed up for the race, we had mental images of what the race would be like. I figured there would be blind athletes running with their guides. I expected many wheelchair athletes, in both push-rim and hand-crank wheelchairs, which there were, but that did begin to describe what we saw and felt during and after the race.
When the race started we saw many fit athletic runners, with tightly-toned physiques, low body-fat and a prosthetic leg. As we did our loop of the park, we soon ran with runners wearing t-shirts saying Heart-Transplant Survivor. We ran with disabled Gulf War Veterans. We passed and were passed by wheelchair athletes, some working their way through the course under their own power, others being pushed by others, wearing smiles, happy to be out and racing on this sunny Sunday morning.
Of all the runners in last year’s race was an adorable little blonde girl who looked like she was about 7-years old. She had a tiny prosthetic leg, the kind that was curled and looked like a duck’s leg. There was nothing wrong with her gait — she was running fast and smooth — in fact she was motoring. I have a seven-year old niece, this little girl reminded me a little of her, both are full of smiles and energy. I ran with her a bit and gave her a high five.
What amazed me most about the Achilles Hope & Possibility race was the tremendous spirit of those who ran it. The runners refused to say no and overcame their disabilities, whether they were born with them or they occurred later in life. They would not be denied the pleasure of running. How many healthy “able-bodied” people refuse to run or be active? Never take anything for granted. You never know when it will be taken away.
