The runners cross the finish line a grueling 3.1 miles later, exhausted but ecstatic. They look down at the broad smiles transforming the faces of the teens situated in strollers. The race was over, and their students had won the pride and accomplishment of competing when they could not have by their own devices.
Members of myTeam Triumph-Lakeshore Chapter, an athletic racing ride-along program for those with disabilities who wish to race with assistance, participated in the Old Boy’s Brewhouse Oktoberfest 5k in Spring Lake on Saturday, Sept 28. Students Bradley Langemaat ( Zeeland), Gatlin Swinton (Grand Haven), Alex Priese (Grand Haven), Travis Renkena (Grand Haven), and Morgan Ream (Muskegon), referred to as “Captains”, raced with the help of program volunteers, known as “Angels.”
The only qualification for being an Angel is a love of running, and a physical ability to finish the race.
“The team of Angels takes turns pushing the captain , so really you need to be able to complete a 5k,” special education teacher Melissa Richardson said. “No one’s flying. It’s not about us, it’s about them.”
Four of the five Captains happen to be students of Richardson, and she attributes her desire to lend her running talent to them to their daily influence on her.
“I really love working with my students and I love being able to give them the same opportunities as their same age peers,” Richardson said. “That’s kind of what we want to do here, to create just as many opportunities for them as there would be for any other student walking around our school.”
When an opening for Saturday’s race opened up, english teacher Angel Dean eagerly snagged the spot for many of the same reasons.
“I love running so much, in a sense it has saved me in many ways, and so I would love to be able to turn around and give that on some level to someone else who doesn’t have the ability to be able to participate independently,” Dean said.
The myTeam Triumph-Lakeshore Chapter was started by Grand Haven teacher Derek Warner after the success of assisting Langemaat, a junior with cerebral palsy, enter the Seahorse Challenge Triathlon course this past May as a member of his Triathlon training class.
“Seeing (Langemaat) race at the Seahorse Triathlon really inspired me to volunteer with myteam Triumph,” said senior James Calkins, a former member of Warner’s class.
Before the race, runners everywhere frantically tie shoes, pin on bibs, and got in their last minute stretches. Before the captain’s races, they sit calmly in their “chariots” , essentially oversized strollers. These seats were borrowed from the national organization of myteam Triumph, and shipped across the country in time for race day. Contrary to an average 5k, it requires a lot more time and effort to prepare.
“We all have these little jobs that we do to make it work…it’s a lot of little time, a lot of people doing different jobs to put it all together,” said English teacher Tom Foley.
In this program, the focus has been switched from the runner’s own personal success, and instead centered on the accomplishment of making the Captain’s race an incredible experience.
“It’s not about us, it’s about them, it’s about the captains,” said Richardson. “We’re just out there for the experience and to make sure that the captain is enjoying it and wants to do it again.”
Foley, a founding member of the board of myTeam Triumph-Lakeshore Chapter, agrees wholeheartedly.
“It has put a different quality to racing for me,” Foley said. “I still want to do my own races and things like that but it’s pretty special to be out there and see the joy in the captains’ faces and their families’.”