Most of my adulthood was spent walking for exercise. I actually walked everywhere. When my boys were young I would push them in a jogging stroller and we would sing, count daffodils, learn Spanish… this was our quiet time. My son, Preston has Mitochondrial Disease and we knew he may be in that jogging stroller a bit longer than our older son Alex was. But it was okay because Preston enjoyed our walks together. When he was 9 years old he was invited to run with Team Hoyt Virginia Beach. This was much better than walking with mom, now he found speed. While I was walking the half marathons he was running with Team Hoyt and finishing much quicker than I was. This was great for Preston but I wanted to be the one to cross the finish line with him.

In the summer of 2012 I decided to run. February of 2013 I ran my first 14K with Preston. When we crossed the finish line together we were both hooked! Not only were the races fun but the training was fun too. Preston has his bluetooth and we both sing together and laugh at funny things we may see. We stop to take pictures of special things or even just pics of us having fun. Gummy bears are a must for our races, Preston says that the purple ones make me run faster.

In May, 2015 my friends surprised me with a Hoyt Blade Running chair. This totally changed our way of running! First, Preston loved it because there was more room for him and much more comfortable. He also loved it because it allowed me to attempt to run faster, which Preston loved. It also opened another world to us and that was biking together! Our Blade has a bike boom that attaches to my bike and we were now able to ride together. In July 2015 Preston and I joined 2300 cyclist and rode from Philadelphia to Atlantic City to raise money for children of fallen police officers and fire fighters. We didn’t know anyone and were such novices to the cycling world. We had each other to get us through the 65 mile journey and that is exactly what we did.

Yes, crossing the finish line or accomplishing the miles you set out to conquer are important but the most important part is being together. This is something Preston and I do together. Mother and Son! Something we can both do. Preston’s Legs may not cross him over the finish line but his heart is big enough for both of us to get to that finish line. His strength is what he gives me to push my body a little harder. Our passion is what hopefully may inspire others to run for someone else, who cannot, or ride with someone, who’s legs cannot pedal. What is important is you are together, accomplishing something so big and creating memories, they may never have had.

Submitted by Deb Markley Buenaga