Start Your Wheels!

Paul Erway wrote a book called "50 Abilities, Unlimited Possibilities: Racing to the Final Finish Line From Salt Lake City to the Mountains of Montana". Paul and his 2 friends made a goal to complete 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 weeks...in wheelchairs! I read about their races that took place in Indiana and Oklahoma. 

The Indiana race took place on October 19th, 2013. Paul, Grant, Adam, and Aaron competed in this race and it was their 39th marathon to complete. The hardest part about this race was that it was raining. With the rain came the challenge on keeping the grip on the wheels to be able to continue to propelling yourself. With this added challenge, Paul said that it felt like they were constantly going uphill. In our wheelchair lab last week we practiced propelling ourselves up the hill of our parking garage. The more I continued to push the more fatigue I was feeling, so I can't imagine how Paul and his friends felt! Another challenge Paul's friends faced were indulging in drinking beers and hitting the town the night before the race. The friends barely got any sleep and they had low energies to start off the race, and that could not be good. I know that you have to have a tremendous amount of strength and energy to push yourself in a marathon, especially in a wheelchair! Being in a wheelchair it requires lots of upper body strength, and if you do not get proper rest, your muscles will not be ready to compete at the proper level for a marathon! The good thing out of drinking beer was that there were plenty of carbohydrates in their system to give them extra fuel! 

The Oklahoma race took place on November 23, 2013. Grant was the only one to compete in this race. This was the 46th marathon the group completed, so close to being over! In this chapter, Paul was reflecting on how much Grant put into these races. One thing that struck out to me was that Grant competed a race where his steering device was broken. He had zero control in making wide turns or staying on the path. The steering device is so important for the safety of Grant and for the other racers competing. Another thing that I realized is how Paul and his friends sometimes have to use their own money for expenses. This group of friends were not under any sponsorship, so all of the traveling, food, parts for their wheelchairs, and lodging were coming out of their pockets! They must of had to plan this challenge years prior to be able to save enough money for these expenses. This situation makes me think about their home life, and if they were easily able to find jobs to cover the large expenses.  

Reference: 

Erway, P. (2019). 50 abilities, unlimited possibilities: Racing to the final finish line from salt lake city to the mountains of montana. Silver Tree Communications.