Young champions go the distance

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Ordway special needs students complete the Kids Marathon.

Three Ordway special education students did something pretty special last Saturday when they completed the Seattle Kids Marathon.

Nine-year-olds Axel Brandt-Erichsen and Scott Mowell, and Kyle Melby – who turned eight on Monday – joined an estimated 3,000 other entrants in the annual event at Seattle Center.

Begun in 1999 with a turnout of just over 300 as part of the Seattle Marathon, the Kids Marathon encourages physical fitness by having entrants run and walk the marathon distance of 26.2 miles in short increments.

They complete 25 miles in the weeks leading up to the event.

Then on race day they cover the final 1.2 miles in a loop around Seattle Center, finishing in Memorial Stadium.

The idea to enter Axel, Scott and Kyle came from special education teacher Megan Belt, whose three daughters all run.

“I thought it would be great for the kids,” she said. “They struggle with a lot of things but this way they could become physically fit.”

The program began the third week in September.

“One kid could only go a hundred feet before he had to rest,” she said. “I thought, how are they ever going to do 25 miles by race day?”

The answer was simple. As Sarah Brandt-Erichsen, Axel’s mother, observed, “They persevered, rain or shine.”

Perseverence may have been particularly challenging for Kyle.

“He had a stroke when he was three,” said his mother, Tammy Melby. “It impaired his right foot. He has a brace on his foot and has trouble keeping his balance. He had never, ever done anything athletic.”

The same held true for Scott.

“This was uncharted territory,” said his mother, Mary Mowell.

The structured environment provided a map, and the daily distances increased as the weeks went by.

“It was amazing how determined they were,” Belt said. “Sometimes they’d do double runs.”

There were no lonely long distance runners at Ordway. Special education paraprofessionals helped out, as did classmates.

“The kids fought over who would get to run with them,” Belt said.

Recognition of their efforts came from Ordway Principal Glen Robbins, who came into each student’s class and awarded the certificates provided by the sponsoring Seattle Marathon Association for each five miles that they completed.

Despite all the preparations, Tammy Melby had some anxious moments.

“Race day was a stretch,” she said. It helped that the Belt family accompanied the youngsters on the course.

“Kyle had his arm up in the air and the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on his face as he finished,” Melby said.

“Scotty was excited to see me, and relieved that it was over,” said Mowell. “He saw lots of policemen on the course, and that made it fun for him.

“We expected him to be tired, but he wasn’t. He didn’t want to go to bed that night.”

Brandt-Erichsen estimated that her son ran about 80 percent of the way without stopping.

“That’s pretty amazing for him,” she said.

The effort took its toll.

“He collapsed for a two-hour nap,” she said. “He was zonked. Then he was excited the whole day. It was a big event for him.”

All three parents noticed that their boys became stronger and more confident as a result of their training.

“Now they know they can do this,” said Mowell. “And it gives Scotty something to chat about with the other kids.”

Brandt-Erichsen summed up the parents’ feelings.

“We totally credit Megan,” she said. “What she did needs to be written in glowing colors.”

Belt declined the praise.

“That was a lot of miles for little feet,” she said. “They’re my heroes. They really are.”