QC Marathon

So for the second year in a row my Lillian was part of the QC Marathon! An amazing group of relay runners

Sarah, Ellonyia, Laura, Carrie, & Laurel

Lillian and Laura

push special needs kids in a very special wheel chair through a leg of the race! Lillian was the first leg of the race! And I was a little scared! Her pusher was smaller than she is!! but she was amazing! Of course the first leg takes the ongest because they have to start in the back of the pack due to the wheelchair! But the first of the runners came through right at a half hour (five miles in) she was in right around 55 min!! What a trouper!!

the last bend for the first leg!

Now this would have been a great start if the wather had decided to cooperate!! We live just up the hill from where the start/finish line is so we returned home for 2 hours so I could feed my starvin kid! In that time the second leg had gone and the third hand off was a success as well!! then disasture struck in the form of Mother Nature herself!! It did not rain... it POURED!! The rain began during the third leg and the poor little guy who was being pushed was in tears! They got under shelter to see if it would let up, but alas it only got worse! Parents were waiting for him about a mile up the road so they decided to push on! The gal they had scheduled for the fourth leg had a Trach and because of the rain, and by this time the VERY cold weather, could not be pushed. So Bless the runner she had to run in the downpour and push and empty chair! (there was no other way to get it to the next checkpoint!) Her strech was nothing but rain!! But she made it through like a trouper!!
By this time the rest of us were gathered together so we could cross the finish line together! The rain stopped for the fifth leg and they were able to push the final kid in the chair! We all met up about 200 yards away from the finish line and all crossed together!!

We can see the finish!!

The crew! (minus the gal that went home due to weather but have no fear she still got a metal!)

The runner on the end is a local columnest for our newspaper (and the one who had to run in the rain)! There was a write up in the local paper and a nice pic of te team crossing the finish line! Pammy's Team article! Lillian (although they misspelled her last name Sikardi not Sikarvi) is my angel and loved every minute of it! Let's hope she gets to participate next year (she's geting a little to big) and that these wonderful people will still take their time to help!
Thanks!
Proud Mommy!! J