Pushed Elsha in her stroller today on the Des News Marathon. Elsha has muscular dystrophy and can't move her arms, legs, or head, but that hasn't slowed her down in chasing her dreams. http://www.u2interference.com/8958-elsha-stockseth-the-biggest-little-u2-fan-in-the-world/ Elsha has a hard time entering certain races because she isn't allowed to use the wheelchair division because she can't push herself. The Des News let us in by having her register as an individual and me the same. Obviously they didn't expect her to win. I figured I could use the mountain training to hold on to a slower marathon and walk as needed. Everyone started out fast, as expected, and we did right on 7 min pace for the first 4 miles, probably back about 150 people. The rest of the race we passed runners mostly due to the heat and the hills. Tons of fun and great talking with elsha the whole way. Passed the two lead women at mile 19 on the "Hogle Monster". We had to stop six times to clear Elsha's airway but she was amazing this time. Great time. The race decided to not give her the win and the $1,000 because the other women would be mad. I don't think she cared. We qualified her for Boston which is what they require for her to run that course and which she has wanted for a long time. |