The Race of a Little Champion

The race was just a half mile long. But for a group of Kindergarten students, that is quite a distance to run.  For our six year old daughter Adria, running a race 2,640 feet long was almost a miracle.

She wanted to do it. She really wanted to run this race. Adria has seen Mommy run a 5K race before and even asked to have a number put on her shirt, so she could race. While I trained to run a half-marathon in her honor, I told her that there would be a children’s race the day after mine. She got so excited about it, and even did a couple little “training runs” herself.

But when race day came (two weeks ago on Sunday, November 9), Adria became nervous as she found herself surrounded by strangers and about 40 other kindergarten age children standing at the starting line.

We were in Savannah, Georgia where Mommy had just completed the 13.1 mile Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon as part of Team Spina Bifida, an organization that raises funds and awareness for spina bifida while encouraging people to get active.

Adria’s race was KiDS ROCK Savannah 2014, and there were children from Kindergarten through sixth grade competing, one grade level at a time. It was a one mile race except for the K-age runners, who just had to complete one half mile.

Running is especially challenging for Adria, but for many children with spina bifida it is impossible.  As a result of being born with myelomeningocele, Adria has weak ankles with almost no sensation in her feet and toes along with low muscle tone in her calves. Due to extreme pronation in her feet, Adria must wear leg braces, Ankle Foot Orthotics, in order to walk any distance. She first learned to walk with a walker at age 2 and then on her own at age 3. Within the last year, she has learned to run better but is much slower than the other children on the playground.

Adria and Mommy at the starting line

As we stood at the starting line with Adria and Mommy sharing her #27 race bib number, I became nervous and excited for her. Would she be able to do this? She’s never run this far before. (It's the same question I asked myself when I ran a marathon a few years ago.)

Then some little boys next to us started talking smack to each other about who was the fastest, and to my surprise she chimed right in. “I’m going to go faster than you guys!” Adria exclaimed to them. And of course they ranted back, “No way, I’m faster than you!” They went back and forth a few times, while I admired my little girl’s confidence…and also feared for it.

Before it continued much more, the announcer gave the signal to get ready. Since there were so many little runners, most accompanied by their parents, the race started in waves with about 10 seconds between them. Adria and I were in the second wave to start.

Ready, Set, Go! Adria took off running with great enthusiasm. Soon, children were passing her at much higher speeds and in the rush, she tripped and fell. No real damage was done, so Adria got up and continued on, but within a few minutes she realized she had dropped far to the back of the pack. She slowed to almost a stop and questioned her ability to continue. She was already breathing heavy and almost lost heart.

At that moment, I feared that I had made a big mistake by encouraging her to do this race. But I knew she had more to give. And I knew this would be normal in her life – to run slower than her peers. She needed to learn to keep going and not be disappointed by her limitations.

In spite of being tired and in the back of the race, Adria keeps running.

Daddy and I encouraged her to keep trying and do her best. A race attendant on a bike rolled up, she would be the one following the back of the race, as is typical. She too encouraged Adria and rallied behind her. Adria kept going. Soon, the crowd of spectators started cheering her on as she continued. Though they did not know this little girl from Delaware or her condition, they could see she was a fighter.

The cheers urged Adria on, but her body became weary as she lagged further and further behind and was eventually the only child left on the course. I even asked the race attendant if there was a time limit, and she said no, they would wait for the final runner to finish.

Adria and her support group, including the race attendant on the bike behind us.

As a final huge turn loomed before Adria, the attendant asked a group of teenagers to join her on the course, rallying behind Adria with cheers of encouragement. They became her cheerleaders (though Adria tells the story now and remarks how they did not have pom-poms!).  A large crowd waited at the finish line and joined in the cheers shouting louder. The race announcer at the finish even called her by name. As Adria heard all the cheers, she found the strength and pushed herself to cross the finish, almost 30 minutes after the race started.

Mommy takes a video of Adria's fight to the finish while cheering her on!

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE!
With her "stranger" cheerleaders behind her.

Winded, red-faced and exhausted, she smiled in her victory. Coming in last place did not matter, Adria had finished the race!   

The Little Champion

We were all so excited to see her fight to cross that finish line on her own!

At any point, Adria could have quit. She could have lost heart, grown weary and walked off the course. It was her choice. But she did not. She had to slow down and barely walk at times, but she kept going. She fought the fight and finished the race that was set before her.

We thank God for the blessing she is and pray that she keeps this strength and perseverance always.