Great Run honour for Lucy
ATEENAGER from Stockport who suffers from a neurological disease has been selected to take part in a new wheelchair Great North Run.
Lucy Keyworth, 17, suffers from Charcot Marie Tooth, which causes muscle weakness in the limbs and affects one out of every 2,500 people in the UK.
She said: “The condition makes motor skills such as walking very difficult and unfortunately it is progressive, which means as I get older the condition will get worse.”
Lucy is one of only five people selected for the first ever Unlimited Great North Wheelchair Event, which has been organised by Simplyhealth in partnership with The Great Run Company, and takes place in Newcastle on Saturday, September 9, the day before the Great North Run.
She was inspired to take part after watching the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and has been training with Paralympic coach Rick Hoskins in preparation for the one mile challenge.
“I was fascinated by the wheelchair racing athletes such as Hannah Cockroft, I just could not believe how fast they were going in the chairs,” she said.
“I wanted to prove to people that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, no matter what your age, race, or in my case disability.
“It’s also given me the opportunity to participate in a sport that I had never had the chance to try.”
The A-level student had a fitting for her new racing wheelchair at Stockport Harriers Athletics Club.
She said: “I didn’t have a clue what to expect, I was just excited to be in a race chair.
“After some help from Rick I soon got used to pushing the wheelchair and learnt how to steer round corners.
“Rick has been great, he knows exactly what he is doing and I have every faith that he will get me to a decent standard prior to the race.
“It’s lucky that I live so close to the track, I feel like I’m going to get carried away and train as much as I can to go as fast as possible.”
Lucy says she believes people wth disabilities struggle to get involved with sport because of a lack of access, but despite having to sit on the sidelines for most of her school years, she is determined not to be held back.
“I believe you can do anything if you put your mind to it, I just think you have to find your own way of doing it because not everyone is the same,” she added.
‘I believe you can do anything if you put your mind to it’