Have you ever wondered what it was like to be an endurance athlete? Well, for many people with a disability, they do not have the ability to find out. Many cannot simply go and enter a marathon, but there is an organization trying to change that. Ainsley’s Angels of America seeks to help people with disabilities experience the thrill of running a marathon, and it’s that inspiration that has lead a father son duo to an incredible adventure along the Mississippi River.
Son with a Disability is Trekking the Mississippi River with His Dad
As a way to cope with the progressive terminal illness of their daughter Ainsley, the Rossiter family started jogging together in local races in 2008. The activity was so therapeutic that the family kept going and by the time Ainsley passed in 2016, she had completed 100 road races. However, her family didn’t stop going after Ainsley’s passing. They shared the experience with others, and now Ainsley’s Angels helps other families experience the comradery, warmth, love and togetherness running together in a race can bring. This experience proved too much for Shaun and Shamus Evans to resist.
Shamus was born with cerebral palsy, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting out there and experiencing races with Ainsley’s Angels. His father Shaun pushes Shamus in events all over the country, and in 2015 the entire Evans family took their race experience even further by trekking across the entire United States. So where do you go after running and biking across the U.S.? You run and bike the length of the Mississippi River of course.
Father, son, mother and brother have all loaded up and started a new trek. So far, they are almost 1,000 miles into the incredible 1,750-mile journey. Their running is being followed on the Ainsley’s Angels Power to Push Facebook page as they run toward their goal, one step at a time.
Brought to you by the Tulsa disability attorneys at Troutman & Troutman, LLP—helping Oklahomans with disabilities get the support they need.
