SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah athletes with special needs paired with volunteers to run a race of a lifetime earlier this month at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Participants in Reese’s Run circle the 442-meter indoor track in an effort to raise funds for those in need. The event is named for Reese Thorn, a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. Children with disabilities team up with others to carry out the event.
“These kids can't get from start to finish without a little assistance, and so by borrowing someone's legs, they can basically be a tag team and complete a race as one,” Race Director Jared Eborn said.
Eborn said their goal is to raise money to help children who have disabilities.
“Raise as much money as we can to buy, or help purchase, a fleet of adaptive strollers, so that we can then loan them out and let them be borrowed by these amazing athletes at races all year long,” he said.
Reese has competed in more than 90 races in the space of two years . People like Jason Hawks from Team Kid Courage want more children with disabilities to have the kind of experience Reese is enjoying.
“The kids' faces tells it all,” he said. “There's a couple of children out here that I’ve watched, every time they come by the crowd and they hear the cheering, you can see them light up, you can see them give high fives.”
The Olympic Oval donated the use of the track time. For more information about Reese, click here.
