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Yes, I'm in a wheelchair. Yes, I ran a half-marathon.

I ran a half-marathon...

Yes, you heard me...I ran a half-marathon. Actually, that's a little bit of a lie. I didn't just run a half-marathon, I BEASTED it and it was all thanks to Ainsley's Angels.

What is Ainsley's Angels you might ask? It's a non-profit organization dedicated to inclusion! Their mission states:

"In addition to ensuring everyone can experience endurance events, Ainsley's Angels of America aims to build awareness about America's special needs community through inclusion in all aspects of life. Serving as advocates to providing education and participating as active members in local communities, we believe everyone deserves to be included." 

 My take on that mission is that they want to change lives so that we can all embrace aspects of life together. Their mantra, "Together We Shall," is a testament to how they really live that undertaking. Let me tell you how I experienced it. Let me take you through my shoes, or wheels, so you can understand how this organization...I mean family....is slowly changing my life.

On January 24th, I did something that I never thought I'd ever do in my life thanks to my battle with Becker muscular dystrophy, I completed the Louisiana Half-Marathon. I'm sure you're wondering, "Chase, you're in a wheelchair! How is that possible?"
Well no worries dear reader, because I was PUSHED in that wheelchair. I know it's not a crazy new thing to the world to be pushed in a wheelchair, but it was a crazy new thing to me! And that crazy new thing was beautiful and wonderful. 

That crazy new thing started bright and early when my best friend, Alicia and I woke up to a cold, morning at 4am in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After bundling up and drinking an excessive amount of coffee, we made our way to the Louisiana State Capital Building where the marathon was taking off. On our way to the staging grounds for all of the Ainsley's Angels' athlete riders and angel runners, as we call them, we ran into a tall guy in a pink tutu. His name was Scott and he was an angel runner who came all the way down from Washington D.C. to bring inclusion to the half-marathon. After chatting on our way to the capitol, we discovered that he was pushing ME along with another angel runner, Janaan.

The unicorns of Team Chase ready to geaux!
Once we got into the building, it was like an explosion of pink and black hit everyone. There were people of all kinds getting ready to run the half-marathon. We quickly found my race chair, donned our unicorn horns (because why not?), picked out the perfect 80s music playlist to play on my portable speaker, and braced ourselves for the cold take-off that awaited us. Once we rolled outside, I could immediately feel the adrenaline start to kick in. Only seconds away was I about to start my very first half-marathon! 

We lined up and all the runners started jumping and pumping themselves up to run. Although, let's be honest, the low of that morning was 31 degrees and I didn't blame them for moving around some. After listening to a beautiful rendition of the national anthem sung by season 13 American Idol contestant, Jessica Meuse, it was time to go! 

After the count of the three and a lot of cheers, we were off! I was completing my very first half-marathon! Throughout the race, so many smiles and cheers were had as we snaked our way through Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge lakes, and the alleys of oak trees on LSU's campus. Every time I saw the pink of a racing chair, we cheered them on. Every time a huge group of runners came by, we cheered. Every time we passed by groups of people on the sidelines cheering their loved ones on, we cheered. But do you want to know the crazy part that I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around? Half of those cheers were for ME! Never in my life have I felt so important. Not only were Scott and Janaan so uplifting as we belted out Whitney Houston as we ran, but the runners that weren't even a part of Ainsley's Angels were yelling my name and encouraging me every step of the way. I felt like a part of something that I never thought I'd be a part of. I felt INCLUDED! I'm getting goosebumps and tears in my eyes as I write this because that's how much this impacted me emotionally.

Did I mention it was 31 degrees?
When we finally approached the finish line, I decided to do something at the advice of the very woman who got me started with Ainsley's Angels. Scott and Janaan stopped, helped me out of the chair, gave me my cane, and I actually WALKED across the finish line. I can't truly put into words how that felt. A mixture of triumph, joy, gratitude, and adrenaline washed through me as I paced along to the finish line. I couldn't believe I was doing this! Over the past nine months before this, I watched my disability slowly remove my ability to work regularly and drive my own car. This was a breaking moment for me. After all that physical and emotional pain, after all the voices in my head that told me I wasn't good enough and that I was just a burden to people, this was my opportunity to tell those voices and that pain goodbye. As I crossed the finish line, in that moment of emotion, I slammed my cane down to say enough was enough. I was and will not let my disease tell me what I can or can't do. 





Enough is enough, muscular dystrophy!
So what is my take away from completing my very first half-marathon? I think the motto "Together, We Shall," truly does describe how I felt about this life-changing experience. Ainsley's Angels was founded by a family that saw a terminal illness bring pain into their daughter's life and their own lives. However, it wasn't the illness that defined her life, but it was the beauty and joy that she radiated through every run that her father would take her on. From this, they turned that pain into something inspirational. They wanted others to experience the joy that Ainsley felt. They wanted others to know what it was like to be a part of something. They wanted others to know that they could be proud of themselves and what they could accomplish. They wanted others to know what it was like to be included.



So from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Ainsley, her family, and the thousands of people that help many people in the special needs community feel like they're important. 

Thank you to Ainsley's Angels, Scott, and Jannan!
The Ainsley's Angels of New Orleans chapter is brand new and I need your help to get it started!

If you want to learn about how you can get involved, volunteer, or run in a local race in the New Orleans' chapter of Ainsley Angels, please go to the Ainsley's Angels website at www.ainsleysangels.org and click on "Join Our Family" to get started. 

 If you would like to donate to help me get started in buying racing chairs for athlete riders like me, you can donate at https://www.crowdrise.com/aainneworleans/.




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