Colin Nichols attends Hanover-Horton
Elementary in Hanover, Michigan. Colin loves participating in his school’s
Mileage Club®, and he runs – a lot. Colin completed 30 miles during MileageClub® when he was in 1st grade. He more than doubled his mileage and
racked up a total of 70 miles in 2nd grade. At the end of the
season, when the school announced that he logged 70 miles (almost twice as many
miles as the runner-up for the year), his classmates cheered wildly.
And that’s a big deal.
Colin has autism, and school
has not always been an easy place for him. Colin’s mom, Carrie, commented that
his classmates “have seen Colin at his worst.” Which made it even more
meaningful that they witnessed his disciplined efforts, and celebrated that
success with him. Carrie Nichols reflected that Colin showed signs of
athleticism from a very young age, but PE class in school was stressful for
him. Colin is easily overwhelmed by the chaos and activity of PE class and
organized sports. But running gives Colin the physical release he needs, and gives
him pride in his abilities. Colin’s mom also noted academic benefits from
Mileage Club® for her son. Both she and Colin’s teacher observed that Colin
would come back into the classroom from Mileage Club® much calmer and ready to
learn, having released on the track his extra energy and pent up frustrations
from the day.
Alison Wade wrote in
an article published by runnersworld.com, “In running, social interaction is
common, but it’s not required for success. Running does not require mastery of
complex techniques, intricate rules, or the principles of teamwork—but it does
offer the opportunity to be a part of a team.”
Russell
Lang, Ph.D., the executive director of the Clinic
for Autism Research, Evaluation and Support at Texas State University in San
Marcos, said
that “Running, in general, is
a community sport and lifetime activity that de-emphasizes social communication
and emphasizes repetitive behavior. That lends itself well to alignment with
the characteristics of autism.”
Tommy Des Brisay of
Ontario also has autism, and began running when he turned 14. He now has dreams
of making the 2020 Paralympic Team.
According to runnersworld.com,
“Within two years (of beginning road racing), he (Tommy) was near the front of
the pack. The first time he won a race, he was confused about where everyone
else was, so he went back up the course to run with each subsequent finisher
and cheer for them as they crossed the line.”
Des Brisay, now 25,
has personal bests of 15:17 for 5K, 1:10:34 for the half marathon, and 2:38:50
in the marathon. It’s not unusual for him to go blowing by his competition
while reciting lines or singing songs from his favorite movies.
But when people
marvel at what Tommy Des Brisay has been able to accomplish in spite of his autism, his mother prefers to ask,
“What if it’s because of his autism that he’s this successful?”
“You can choose to
look at autism as a disability or you can choose to look at it as a collection
of abilities that can be celebrated,” she said. “There’s no doubt that for
Tommy, part of his success as a runner has been his unfailing willingness or
joy in training all the time. He’s the kind of guy that doesn’t see it as a
tedium of any kind to go forward and do the same workout. There’s a comfort for
him in that. So I think for Tommy, his autistic tendencies are an advantage in
a lot of things. One of those is his running.”
Which leads us back to
Hanover-Horton Elementary. When I asked Colin what his favorite thing about
Mileage Club® was, he didn’t mention the many tokens he’s earned, the Mileage
Club ®t-shirt he won, or the applause from his classmates. He simply answered,
“Running.”
