JEAN DRISCOLL INTERVIEW Running and Pushing with Kids Jean Driscoll, Champions' Breakfast, Boston Marathon, 2006 Photo Carol Goodrow Tradition Every year I attend the Champions' Breakfast at the Copley Plaza on the Saturday before the Boston Marathon hoping to glean some wisdom from the past winners. This year I met Jean Driscoll and we chatted about including children with disabilities in running/fitness clubs. I hope that within this interview you find something to inspire you to include a youngster with disabilities in your club.     Carol Goodrow, KidsRunning.Com Founding Editor INTERVIEWING JEAN DRISCOLL KR: I have successfully included a child who could not see, a child who could not hear, and many children with intellectual handicaps in my club, but I have never had a child in a wheelchair ask to participate. Let's assume a child in a wheelchair signed up for my running club. Could a child in a wheelchair maneuver the rocky terrain we walk/run on for part of our club sessions? JEAN: Racing wheelchairs are built only for the road and the track. The wheels are too narrow and delicate to maneuver over rocky terrain. Either the athlete could find some wheels for their everyday chair with off-road (mountain bike) tires on them or they could choose an alternative and do the same amount of mileage as his/her peers on the road. If your athletes are walking over rocky terrain, a wheelchair athlete may be able to stay with them, provided they have the right tires on their chair (the off-road tires I referenced above). If your athletes are running over this terrain, though, it could be a very humbling and frustrating experience for the athlete using the wheelchair. That's when the road may be a better option. I used to train on rocky, uneven trails in the fall months when I started laying my base training for the following year. I used the off-road tires and got together with friends who pushed/walked on the trails with me. It can be hard on the wrists so you wouldn't want to do this more than once or twice a week, six weeks at a time. KR: Same for the fields? JEAN: Fields are not quite as difficult to maneuver as rocky terrain, but it would still be frustrating to watch the able-bodied athletes run away while the wheelchair athlete was getting more of a resistance workout in the fields. If the wheelchair athlete is struggling with the slower terrain of the fields, you may want to plan a road workout with the same mileage that the other athletes are running in the field. I would certainly give the wheelchair athlete a choice as to what he/she wants to do, however. They may want the higher resistance workout in the field and not be bothered by falling behind. Then again, maybe not. It's always best to ask and allow the athlete to have input in the decision. That way, they won't feel completely left out. KR: What equipment or resources would be needed to have them use these running routes? JEAN: Again, an everyday wheelchair with a pair of off-road tires would work. There are off-road chairs specifically designed for off-road activities, but buying another chair besides the racing chair and everyday chair could be cost prohibitive. The best case scenario would be if the wheelchair athlete had an old everyday chair they no longer use. That way they could put larger front wheels on the chair (8 inch wheels instead of the small 4 inch chairs normally used) and not have to worry about putting undo stress on their everyday chair. If it's muddy, they wouldn't have to worry about that either. KR: Do you call it running? Do you say you ran the Boston Marathon? What term do you use? JEAN: Yes, I call it running. It's also correct to use the term "pushing" too. KR: If we wanted to use the roads, what would we need to do to make it safe for a large group of young kids to do road running so that we could accommodate the child in the wheelchair? JEAN: It would depend on the speed of the child in the chair. If they were a little faster, I would put them in the front of the pack. If they were a little slower, I would put them behind the other runners. If the speed of the child in the wheelchair is significantly different than his/her peers, you might want to find someone to ride alongside them on a bike. You also might consider taping a tall orange flag to the chair, just for road workouts, so that the athlete would be more easily seen. When I trained at the University of Illinois, we were not allowed on the roads for workouts unless we had an orange flag taped to the back of our chairs. Of course, we took them off for track workouts and races. Have I created more questions in your mind? : ) KR: What about using a high school track? Would this work for the wheelchair athlete? JEAN: ABSOLUTELY!!! This would actually be the best alternative, particularly for very young athletes. KR: I would need a ton of support to be allowed to let my young kids do road running since I often get large numbers in my club - 50 kids in a session - and they are young (first and second grade). What about bussing the kids to a track? Would that allow the wheelchair kid to participate? JEAN: Once again, I give you a resounding YES! You wouldn't have to worry about an extra volunteer to ride a bike alongside the athlete and they wouldn't have to bother with taping an orange flag to their chair so cars could see them better. Photo from jeandriscoll.com KR: What do you consider the high point of your career? JEAN: My first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth victories at the Boston Marathon. KR: What are you doing now to "give back"? JEAN: I am working with eight wheelchair athletes in Ghana, West Africa. With the help of several Rotary Clubs, churches, and private donors, I was able to bring eight wheelchair athletes from Ghana to the USA in 2003. At that time, they received their first ever personal everyday wheelchairs as well as their first personal racing chairs. In Ghana, if you can't walk, you crawl on the ground with sandals on your hands to get around. There are no wheelchair manufacturers. I teamed up with an organization called Joni and Friends who has a program called "Wheels for the World." They collect wheelchairs across the country, send them to one of seven prisons where inmates restore them to like-new condition, and then distribute them in countries where wheelchairs are scarce commodities. You can find out more about this program at http://www.joniandfriends.org. As a result of the Ghanaian wheelchair athletes coming to America in September 2003, one male and one female athlete represented their country in the Paralympic Games for the first time in the history of this event. (The Paralympic Games are Olympic level competition for athletes with physical disabilites. They are held in the same host city and same venues as the Olympic Games, only 2-3 weeks later.) Now, the young girl's family talks to her. (People with disabilities in Ghana are regarded as "cursed by God" and are not counted in the census. In many cases, they are shunned by their families and society.) KR: Did you always have confidence to do great things or was there ever a time as a child that you were discouraged? JEAN: I was discouraged many times, even in the midst of all the success. One of the things that set me apart, however, was my willingness to work hard in good times and in bad. I never gave up during a workout and never skipped a practice because I wasn't happy. I typically sign my autographs, "Dream BIG and Work Hard!" KR: With all the focus on children's fitness (and healthy eating) - I am wondering if you feel that most kids in wheelchairs get enough exercise? JEAN: No, I don't. That's mostly because they are often seen as "unable" and are not encouraged to get off the sidelines, whether at school or at home. It's a stereotype that needs to change. KR: Did you ever use an electric wheelchair? JEAN: No. My upper body strength has always been exceptional. Power chairs are for people with limited upper body strength. By the way, you should use the term "power chair or power wheelchair" as "electric wheelchair" is not considered PC. It sounds too much like the punishment some people receive after committing heinous crimes. : ) KR: What are exercise standards for people in wheelchairs? Same? 1 hour/ day? JEAN: Exercise standards for people with disabilities do parallel those for people without disabilities. Since the lower body muscles are larger than those in the upper body, though, it's harder for someone who uses a wheelchair to burn the same number of calories while doing similar exercises. The effect on the heart and overall wellness, however, is equally as valuable. KR: When John was in my club we translated Happy Feet, Healthy Food to Braille. When Michael joined us, we taught the children ASL. They could all sign, "Are you going to the Chipmunk Chase (our club fun run)?" and more. If a wheelchair kid-athlete were to sign up, I would be an advocate for getting buses to take us all to the high school track so that we could safely run together. I hope someday to have a wheelchair athlete in my club.     Carol LINK TO JEAN'S WEB SITE jeandriscoll.com EMAIL THE EDITOR carolgoodrow@verizon.net Privacy Policy of Kids Running