1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 All right, welcome to the AdaptX podcast where we have individuals who are building accessible 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:08,560 businesses, advocating for inclusion or excelling in adaptive sports. Our intention is never to 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,080 speak on behalf of those with disabilities, but provide a platform to share their voice and 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,800 amplify their ideas to a more accessible world. Today we are joined by Sean and Seamus Evans, 5 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:21,360 a father and son duo from Galway, a small town in upstate New York. In addition to being a 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,520 physical therapist, Sean is senior vice president of programs with Ainsley's Angels of America. 7 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:29,680 Seamus was born with cerebral palsy, which has resulted in him using a power wheelchair 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,920 for mobility. Although Seamus may have some physical limitations, his ability to dream big 9 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:38,640 is limitless. He and his father have run thousands of miles together and have participated in hundreds 10 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,680 of races. The team has a passion for promoting inclusion and took on two transcontinental runs 11 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,560 to spread awareness about inclusivity. This past Monday, they participated in their first 12 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,800 Boston Marathon together, which I am excited to talk about more. So Sean and Seamus, thank you 13 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:59,520 for joining me. Thanks for having us. All right, yeah, maybe we'll start with Boston because 14 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:05,200 I think that will be like the first topic that we'll probably promote since it's fresh in 15 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:12,240 everyone's minds. So maybe take us through the process of when did you first want to run Boston? 16 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:18,560 Why did you want to run Boston? And how did you qualify to run Boston? Yeah, so yeah, you say 17 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:26,480 it's fresh. Fresh in our minds, it's still fresh in my legs too. I ran Boston for the first time 18 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:32,640 in 2003 as an individual. Now that was before Seamus was even born. Seamus was born in 2006. 19 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:38,560 Kind of like every runner, you know, not every, but a lot of runners have that as a goal to want 20 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,680 to run Boston. And I was the same way when I was running as an individual. I ran Boston six 21 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,800 consecutive times through 2008. And then I started chasing faster times. I was looking for faster 22 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:55,280 courses to run on. Ended up running a 226 marathon in Vermont City Marathon in 2009. 23 00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:01,840 So that was the fastest I ever got. Fast forward a couple years, Seamus had been training with me 24 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,320 since he was basically old enough to sit in his jogging stroller. I guess that would have been 25 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:11,920 2007. He would have been a year old. But in 2013 Seamus decided that he wanted to start running 26 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:19,040 races together, which I thought was a great idea. We got some new wheels that allowed for his growing 27 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:25,600 body to be more comfortable. We got those from Ainsley's Angels. And once Seamus got those new 28 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,880 wheels, we did start racing together. And I would say in the back of my mind at that time, 29 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:39,520 knowing that Dick and Rick had done it 37 times or whatever it was, that hopefully Seamus and I 30 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,640 would be able to get there someday. I don't know that Seamus knew about it at that time, 31 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:50,560 but we ran our first marathon together. We ran an ultra marathon together in 2013. 32 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,040 And I guess that was the first time that we really covered a lot of distance. Do you remember 33 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:01,600 specifically when Boston entered your mind? Oh, you know what it probably was? At the Louisiana 34 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:08,800 Marathon in 2015, we had the opportunity to meet Dave McGilvery, who was the keynote speaker at the 35 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:16,080 Louisiana Marathon. And he had found out that we were getting ready and preparing for our first 36 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:21,680 transcontinental run from Seattle to New York City. And of course, Dave had done the same thing 37 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:28,320 in 1978. He ran from Medford, Oregon to Medford, Massachusetts. So there was a special place in his 38 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:34,720 heart for what we were getting ready to attempt. And he brought us each some Boston Marathon 39 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:41,280 apparel and presented us with that on stage as he delivered his keynote speech. And I would say 40 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:46,880 that's probably when Seamus was really introduced to Boston. Yeah, so that was eight or nine years 41 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,600 ago and Seamus at the time you weren't old enough to run Boston. So there is the 18 year old 42 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:59,840 minimum for riders as well. So you recently just turned 18, right? Yes. And that allowed you guys 43 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:07,200 the opportunity to do it. So you ran a qualifying race back in August or September? Yeah, you want 44 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:13,920 to talk about the qualifiers. When was Sacketts? Yeah, that was Labor Day weekend in Sacketts 45 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:23,360 Harbor. And this was the first time that they were running the race. So it was not, there weren't too 46 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:31,920 many people there, which was good because going around people in big marathons is a bit of a 47 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:39,120 challenge and can take up time. So when we're trying to qualify, having that minimal people 48 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:47,920 there was a little bit helpful. And then so we started out really good. We had a great pace. 49 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:56,800 And then around mile nine, our chair broke. The handlebar snapped clean off and 50 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:10,000 my dad had to push the chair from way lower than where he was used to. So he ended up 51 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:19,280 running the rest of the 17 miles from down low. And we still qualified with a time of 259. 52 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,120 That's awesome. Impressive feat for both of you, I'm sure. 53 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:30,960 Because it was the first time they had run a marathon, I just reached out to the race director 54 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:36,800 and explained who we were and what we were attempting to do. And they welcomed us with a 55 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,040 open arms. And we were so grateful for that because originally we had planned to run the 56 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:47,280 Buffalo marathon. And I did that. I had registered for that because that was where I first qualified 57 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:51,760 as an individual. I thought it would be neat to go back and qualify there as a team. After I 58 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:56,480 reached out to the Buffalo race director, he had actually invited Seamus and I to be the keynote 59 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:02,320 speakers for their dinner. And we were going to sign books at their expo. And then Seamus' Odyssey 60 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:09,120 of the Mind team qualified for the world finals last year. So we had to postpone our plans and 61 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:14,960 change our plans. So I reached out to Sackett's Harbor kind of last minute, just maybe six weeks 62 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,360 before the race. And again, they welcomed us with open arms. So it all worked out really, really 63 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:25,600 well. There's a qualifying window for Boston that ends like mid September. And I only know because 64 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,960 the other night I was looking at what would qualify for the World Finals. And I was like, 65 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:35,760 I'm looking at what would qualify Jacob and I possibly for like 2025. And I think we have to 66 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:41,680 run before September 15th or something. So Sackett's, you said Sackett's is Labor Day 67 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,320 weekend. Isn't Buffalo a little bit later in the fall? Buffalo is actually Memorial Day weekend. 68 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:52,640 Oh, okay. All right. When I was marathoning as an individual, I used to double. I used to do Boston 69 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:58,880 and then five or six weeks later I would do Buffalo. But yeah, I mean, I'd recommend Sackett's 70 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:04,400 Harbor. Definitely. It's an out and back course, a little bit uphill on the way out and downhill on 71 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:09,680 the way back. And yeah, I mean, it worked out really, really well for us. And the great thing 72 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:14,160 about Sackett's Harbor, like you mentioned, there's that window for qualifying for Boston. 73 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,800 Well, Sackett's Harbor falls in the window that qualifies you for two years. So if you're between 74 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,760 the first and 15th of September, I think you get a two year qualifier or you know, whatever it is, 75 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:29,120 18 months. So we are actually qualified at Sackett's Harbor for 2025 as well. Though perfect. 76 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:36,080 Yeah, that works out perfectly. So maybe we'll transition to Boston this year. Seamus, what was 77 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:41,440 your favorite part of the weekend? I guess I know you guys kind of came in late because you had a 78 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,960 competition. So you didn't really get there till Sunday. But maybe what was your favorite part of 79 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:56,640 the race? Definitely the crowd. Most marathons that I run, it feels like the time that it takes. 80 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:04,320 But at Boston, with the crowd, all the energy and the positivity, it did not feel like we were out 81 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:12,560 there for almost three hours. It went by very fast. Yeah, the crowds are crazy. Yeah, crowds 82 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,920 are insane. I actually found that. Oh, go ahead. I was just gonna say one of the things that he said 83 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:23,440 to me was, Dad, it feels like we're at the finish line of every other marathon the whole way. Yeah, 84 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,680 exactly. The whole way. Yeah, it was crazy. We couldn't hear any of the music on our chair. 85 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:34,320 Usually we have a speaker playing music, couldn't hear any of it. I almost felt like I was getting 86 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,960 kind of propelled to running. I shouldn't say I almost felt I definitely got propelled to running 87 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:45,200 way faster than I wanted to because of the crowds. So it almost like was a not it certainly wasn't a 88 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:52,080 negative, but it got me way thrown off for sure. No doubt. I mean, that is a challenge in Boston, 89 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:59,760 always. The transcontinental runs that you guys have done, I know they've had a mission behind them. 90 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:06,640 It's not just running an insane amount of miles. So maybe could you take us through the two different 91 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:11,120 segments that you did and what you did along the way? Yeah, so I had mentioned earlier that, you 92 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:16,320 know, Seamus and I ran that ultra marathon in 2013. Well, after that ultra marathon Seamus 93 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:21,520 came up with the idea that he'd like to run that far every single day for his summer vacation. And 94 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:28,880 in that ultra marathon, it was a six hour time event and we had covered 45 miles. So he was like 95 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,560 in first grade at the time. So my wife and I helped him with the math and said, oh, if we ran that 96 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:37,680 far every single day for summer vacation, we could run 3000 miles. And he thought, you know, that 97 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:42,160 sounded neat. And he said, how far could we make it if we ran 3000 miles? So we pulled out a map 98 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,400 of the United States and said we could run from this ocean to this ocean and pointed, you know, 99 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:51,120 Pacific to Atlantic. And it was like a little light bulb went off in Seamus's head. And he said, 100 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,320 we got to do that. And my wife and I honestly kind of brushed it off at the time he was seven years 101 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:01,600 old. And, you know, it was fun. It was neat to dream about and think about, but we never actually 102 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:06,640 thought that it would come to fruition. And we would come up with, you know, reasons or excuses. 103 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,520 You know, like it's going to take a lot of time. I don't know if I can train or prepare my body 104 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,680 for that. I don't even know if it's physically possible or financially possible and on and on. 105 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,720 But about three months later, Seamus was persisting. And when I was tucking him in, 106 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:26,480 after reading him his bedtime story, he said, Dad, when we run across America, can we donate chairs 107 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:32,640 to kids like me? Can we gift them chairs so that they can feel what it's like to go fast? And, 108 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:39,040 you know, I walked out of his room and said to my wife, we got to try. We got to try to make this 109 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:45,040 happen. So for the next 18 months, I trained in earnest and we planned and tried to figure out 110 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:52,000 all the logistics. And in the summer of 2015, we started, like I said, Puget Sound in Seattle, 111 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:58,480 Washington and ran 56 miles a day for 60 consecutive days. And we donated 35 Freedom 112 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:03,920 Running chairs to kids and families along the way. All Seamus' idea. Nothing that was ever on my 113 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:11,360 bucket list. Seamus, great idea. Very, very kind of, very kind to your dad to have him running that 114 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:17,600 much. What were the logistics of donating all those chairs? Were chapters kind of along the route 115 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:23,440 meeting you guys or were you transporting? At that point, we weren't as, Ainsley's Angels wasn't as 116 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:28,160 wide reaching as it is now. In fact, a lot of our Ainsley's Angels ambassadorships, or at least a 117 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:34,560 handful were born out of that run across America. So what we did to solicit like applications for 118 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:42,800 families was we reached out to iRun4, which is like a Facebook community of people that run for 119 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,920 individuals with disabilities or special needs. We took applications from them and we ended up with 120 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:55,040 35 applications. The only caveat of the application was that they had to be able to get near or to the 121 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,920 route that we were running. We got 35 applications and we were able to raise enough money to donate 122 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:05,840 all 35 of those chairs. Seamus, what was the most challenging part of that summer? 123 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:26,640 So on day six, there was a lot of negative stuff that happened. We got a late start and we had to 124 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:36,240 present a chair live on TV. So having a late start from that, not a bad reason to have a late start, 125 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:44,640 but we made it to our destination a little bit later. And then there was a gas leak in the RV, 126 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:52,000 which caused my mom to have a migraine. It was like a propane leak inside. Yeah. So she opened 127 00:12:52,000 --> 00:13:02,000 the vents and then we were driving to like a party that they were throwing for us a barbecue. 128 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:13,120 And we forgot to close the vents. So a tree took the panel clean off and my brother was going to 129 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:21,520 make me a sandwich and he cut his finger while he was doing that. So he was throwing up and passing 130 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:34,240 out. And then so we got to our party and we'd said to decompress. And I said to my family, 131 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:41,680 why do you guys look so sad? We had a great day today. We got to donate a chair on TV. 132 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:50,800 We got to do an interview. And after the barbecue, we were going to a water park. So a lot of positive 133 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:57,920 things. And so I think the hardest part was staying positive through the whole time. But 134 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:03,680 when we were together as a family, that was pretty easy. 135 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:10,720 Yeah. Sean, does that positivity from Seamus translate to races as well? And how does it help 136 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:16,640 your performance in races, especially when you meet adversary like Sackets Harbor or Boston when 137 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:23,600 it's a challenging course in the later half? Yeah. I mean Seamus is and has always been the 138 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:29,600 eternal optimist. And I personally am not always that way. I'm always running through scenarios 139 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:36,160 of what could go wrong and what do I need to do to plan to try and avert that. But Seamus always 140 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:44,880 kind of has the attitude that things are going to work out and he's always right. That positivity 141 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:53,040 definitely helps to propel us through everything really. Not just racing, but every day. We run 142 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:59,280 into obstacles. We run into challenges. But I think about some of the things that we do 143 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,200 about some of the obstacles and challenges that Seamus faces on a daily basis and that we're able 144 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:10,480 to work together as a team to overcome that. And maybe that's kind of the reason that he has the 145 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:20,080 attitude he does of positivity. So no doubt. I mean, when the chair broke in Sackets Harbor, 146 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:26,160 it wasn't even a question about stopping. It was, you know, how are we going to make this work so 147 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:31,520 that we can continue to try and meet our qualifying time? And we did have to make some adjustments. 148 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,920 You know, I couldn't turn the chair because I had no leverage like we normally, you know, 149 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:40,160 pop a wheelie and turn. And we had hairpin turns because it was an out and back. So I ran around 150 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,080 to the front of the chair, lifted up the front tire and dragged them behind me when I needed to. 151 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:48,400 And there were several turns that we had to do that on. And again, we still met the qualifying 152 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:55,040 standard. Seamus kept his smile the entire time. And I'm sure that that helped me to stay positive. 153 00:15:55,040 --> 00:16:00,240 Yeah, it was a great article in Runners World about it. We'll have to link it in the show notes 154 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,720 of the episode so people can read about the Sackets Harbor experience. But Seamus, have you 155 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:12,000 guys had any races where the conditions like weather-wise were less than ideal? And how does 156 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,800 it feel? That was my biggest fear with Boston was it was going to be cold and raining just for Jacob's 157 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:22,320 sake, like getting pelted with rain for three or four hours. What is the worst race experience 158 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:27,120 that you've had weather-wise? Three years ago? I don't know which one do you think? Marine Corps. 159 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:37,360 Oh yeah. Yeah. So about three years ago, we were running Marine Corps and we said, you know, 160 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:46,480 this was probably going to be our last Marine Corps as I was entering high school. And the weather 161 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:58,880 for that was about probably 40 degrees and cold, cold downpours of rain. It's not fun. The chair 162 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:07,120 was filling with water. So anytime we would tip to turn, all the water would rush to like the back 163 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:13,760 where I was sitting. So that was not very comfortable. And after the race, I said, 164 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:21,680 we cannot end on that year. That was not a good enough weather to end. So we ended up continuing 165 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:27,040 to do Marine Corps. Yeah. There were parts of that race where we were running through 166 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:34,160 eight inches. And I'm not exaggerating eight inches of standing water on the road. It's just 167 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,640 probably the most challenging weather that we've ever run in just because it was relentless rain. 168 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:44,240 I had put Seamus's feet in like a bag, like a plastic bag to try and keep them dry. When we 169 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:49,920 finished the race, I dumped about two gallons of water out of that bag. That's great. There was no 170 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:56,240 staying dry. Since then, we've gotten a nice little rain shield that is a little more tight 171 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:01,920 fitting and fits the chair a little better. So if we encounter those type of conditions again, 172 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,960 we'll be a little better prepared. You guys have done a lot of races and 173 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:13,840 kind of all around the country. What marathon or shorter distance, I suppose, as well race, 174 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:20,320 would you say is the most inclusive? Or what do you notice about some races that are more inclusive 175 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:27,440 than others? What makes them more inclusive? I would say Marine Corps marathon seems to be 176 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:33,600 one of the more inclusive races that we participated in just because of the number of wheels on the 177 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:40,160 course and the way that they take care of the wheeled athletes. We're amongst the start. I 178 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:48,400 think there's like a hundred duos usually, which is unique. And then a lot of hand crank and push 179 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:54,640 rim. And of course, there's a lot of veterans involved in that race. I would say that's probably 180 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,200 one of the most inclusive that we've ever been a part of. And that takes place right around 181 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:05,840 Halloween weekend every year in Washington, DC. Yeah. And I mean, this year we were a part of the 182 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:12,800 biggest duo field that Boston's ever had. But obviously, I would love to see them continue to 183 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:18,160 expand that division. I feel like if you can accommodate 20, I'm not sure why you couldn't 184 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,640 accommodate 30. Yeah. And you look at Marine Corps marathon, and I think that the total 185 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,800 field is something like 40,000. And like I said, a hundred duos, a hundred 186 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:34,800 duos, and probably as many hand cranks all on the course together sharing the road. 187 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:47,840 What's the line between competing as a duo and advocating as a duo? Is there a downside of 188 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:53,840 wanting to run well, or are we supposed to just be content with being out there and showcasing 189 00:19:53,840 --> 00:20:00,320 inclusion? You know, I think that even coming out of Boston and us having a surprisingly good, 190 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:11,040 faster time than I expected just helps with publicity for what we do. So I think the two 191 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:17,680 can go hand in hand. It doesn't just have to be that we're going out to participate, though I 192 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:22,160 think that is our number one goal is going out to participate. But then when you do it with a little 193 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:29,360 bit of competitive spirit and a little bit of pace, it draws a little more attention. And like 194 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:36,880 you mentioned the Runners World article, Seamus and I were driving home from the race on Monday, 195 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:41,520 and I think we did three interviews on the car ride home through the van speakerphone, 196 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:49,040 just because people have heard of what we have done as a duo, what we've accomplished as a family. 197 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:57,360 And I think that it does help a little bit to be able to still run, rely on Seamus to pull me a 198 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:02,720 little faster once in a while. Yeah, and I mean, it certainly doesn't diminish the accomplishments 199 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:08,880 of anyone that's not competing for a specific time. It's still equally essential. But I do think 200 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:15,200 you're right that it turns a little more heads and hopefully like even at Boston, like there's 201 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:21,120 prize purses for every division except duos. So like maybe it will get to a point where duos 202 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:27,120 are recognized in the same lens that push rim or hand cycle is and it probably would require people 203 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:33,120 like yourselves kind of moving that forward as a more competitive field. Yeah, yeah, I thought the 204 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:38,720 same thing as we were driving home on Monday. You know, the other thing that obviously has helped 205 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:45,680 a lot is Dick and Rick's longevity in doing it. And hopefully Seamus and I are able to maintain 206 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:52,240 that as a father son duo. You know, it's just astounding how long they were able to do it for. 207 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:58,720 And then, you know, when I have to retire, maybe Seamus's brother can step in and continue Seamus 208 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,200 being able to participate. Yeah, yeah, that would be awesome. I mean, my favorite part of what you've 209 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:11,760 shared so far is just the closeness of your family, even like a summer being spent running, living in 210 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:18,880 an RV, like that's just really impressive to me. So I think my favorite part of the whole story is 211 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:23,840 just how close you guys are. And honestly, you know, that was one of the hardest parts of Monday was 212 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,320 that Nicole and Simon couldn't be there. You know, they had obligations back here with Simon with 213 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,560 track practice and Nicole with school that they just, they didn't feel like they could stay there 214 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,400 like they could step away from it. And we totally understood it, but it was hard to not have them 215 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:44,000 at a race like Boston, you know, when they are by our sides or cheering us on as much as possible. 216 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,040 And you know, you mentioned that summer of 2015. Those are some of my most favorite memories. 217 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,280 Yeah, it was amazing. We saw some amazing things and ran across the country. But honestly, some of 218 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:01,120 my most favorite memories are time in the RV, just the four of us, you know, out on the road, 219 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:06,160 you know, visiting around that tiny little table at dinner or playing games at UNO or whatever. 220 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:12,000 I'm going to cherish those memories forever. Yeah, absolutely. I can't imagine that your favorite 221 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,720 part of that experience was running nearly 60 miles a day. I can't imagine that was the most 222 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,840 comfortable part of the experience. But Seamus, what are your goals for the next few years, 223 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:29,440 maybe both academically and athletically? Yeah. So coming up pretty, pretty soon, I'm 224 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:37,840 hosting a Blue Gene mile at my school to raise awareness for mental illness and suicide awareness. 225 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:45,520 So that is where people will come to our high school track. They'll throw on a pair of blue 226 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:53,600 jeans and run a mile. And then I'll give them a, everyone will get an award of some sort. 227 00:23:53,600 --> 00:24:01,600 And then after that, starting to get ready for college, I recently committed to U Albany 228 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:10,400 to study physics and mechanical engineering. Really impressive. Is U Albany close to where you guys 229 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:16,560 live? Yeah, it's about like 45 minutes away. But Seamus' goal is to go and live on campus. And 230 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:21,040 that's what we're trying to navigate as a family now is, you know, we've been, you know, we've been 231 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:26,720 working with the residents life and disability services, and they're all on board. Now it's just 232 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,200 a matter of finding the personal care assistance that that will be able to help them. Yeah. Why 233 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,120 don't you tell them about some of the other athletic things that you do in general and hope 234 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:43,120 to continue? Oh, yeah. So, um, yeah, one of the one of the big ones is right now I'm shooting 235 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:52,560 track currently, and we have two competitions coming up that I'm going to, hopefully, can do 236 00:24:52,560 --> 00:25:02,800 pretty well. And then over the summer, I will be a part of the why not sailing club at Lake George. 237 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:11,040 And last year I won the the regatta that they hosted. So hopefully this summer, I'll be able 238 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:20,640 to participate in that again. So one of the really neat things about that program, again, it's called 239 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:28,000 why not, is Seamus can totally sail independently. Now, I didn't know anything about sailing, but 240 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:33,360 Seamus, they have the boats rigged. They're for people with disabilities. They have a joystick 241 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:39,360 that operates the rudder and the pulleys for the rope so he can operate the sails. And Seamus 242 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:44,080 has been sailing since he was 12 years old. I hopped in the boat with him because they were short 243 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,880 volunteers one day this summer and Seamus has us like sideways at a 45 degree angle. And I'm like 244 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:53,600 Seamus, is this is this what we're supposed to be doing? We were flying with the wind and it was 245 00:25:53,600 --> 00:26:00,800 just amazing. So the thing that's neat about that is he you know, he doesn't have to rely on my legs 246 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:07,920 to propel him. And he can do it solo. It's really, really rewarding to watch. Absolutely, Sean. As 247 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:15,520 a father, maybe 18 years ago, when you found out that Seamus was going to have cerebral palsy, 248 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:23,040 what were your initial reactions? And how has what he's accomplished over the last 18 years 249 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,680 likely vastly exceeded all of your expectations, I would imagine? Yeah, you know, it's interesting 250 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:36,560 because Seamus wasn't diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. He was, you know, as far as the 251 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:41,360 doctors in the hospital and everything were concerned was, you know, he was born a healthy 252 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:46,080 baby, his APGAR scores are normal, there was no, you know, trauma or anything that you often hear 253 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:53,680 about with cerebral palsy. My job at the time was pediatric physical therapy. And that's all I was 254 00:26:53,680 --> 00:27:01,040 doing, working primarily with individuals with neurological conditions similar or or having 255 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:09,120 cerebral palsy. So I actually took it to the doctor several times. And I said, I think, you know, 256 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:12,720 some of the things that Seamus is exhibiting, you know, he was holding his hands and tight little 257 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:18,320 fists. He had ankle clonus, which is kind of that, you know, beating of his ankles. 258 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:25,200 There were just a few different things that I took to the doctors. And they just said, Sean, 259 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,720 you're just paranoid dad who knows too much, he's gonna outgrow it. You know, there's nothing really 260 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,960 to be concerned about here. Finally, when he was about 10 months old, and wasn't really sitting or 261 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:40,080 crawling or anything, they agreed to an early intervention evaluation. He obviously qualified 262 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:45,120 because he had developmental delay. And then about two months later, that right later than that, 263 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:49,760 right around his first birthday is when we saw a neurologist, he was actually diagnosed with 264 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:55,440 cerebral palsy. So your question was, you know, how did you how did you feel? Or how did you react? 265 00:27:55,440 --> 00:28:03,280 And I think I had known that it was coming for a long time. And my wife, you know, and I had had 266 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,920 obviously had a lot of conversations about it. And Nicole at the time was a special education 267 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:16,400 teacher. So we were well versed in what services were available and how to navigate that system. 268 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:22,880 And, and without ever really talking about it, you know, Nicole and I, you know, set the plan in 269 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:28,000 progress to whatever Seamus wants to try or do, we're going to figure out a way to make that 270 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:33,280 happen through how you know, how we have to accommodate, adapt, and make things accessible. 271 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:40,880 And that's what we've done his entire life. And then, you know, he asked how how he kind of Seamus 272 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:46,800 his last 18 years have turned out now. Again, my goal was to get him involved and to participate in 273 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:52,320 whatever he wanted to do. I had no idea that he was going to bring our family on the journey 274 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:58,320 that we've been on. I mean, I, again, beyond my wildest dreams, I had no idea that he was going 275 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:04,720 to be such a big dreamer and such a positive beam of light in this family, and really has led the 276 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:11,120 way. And a lot of times I say, you know, I'm just here riding Seamus's coattails and helping to put 277 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:18,560 his his mission into being and he has really helped us to figure out and see what inclusion is all about. 278 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:24,560 Yeah. Now you guys are very involved with Ainsley's Angels, which is an organization that does 279 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:30,880 something similar for a lot of families around the country. Seamus, do you want to tell the audience 280 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:38,560 a little bit about what Ainsley's Angels is? Yeah. So Ainsley's Angels is a rider athlete organization, 281 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:47,680 and they'll pair able body runners with our rider athletes and participate in endurance events like 282 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:55,280 5Ks, marathons, ultra marathons, and then some people have even done triathlons, which is a 283 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:59,920 really cool experience. Are you guys going to do any triathlons or have you done any triathlons? 284 00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:06,720 We have. We've done three or four. Yeah, yeah, we've done several. And the neat thing about 285 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:11,200 Ainsley's Angels, and I know you know, Brendan, is we're really trying to branch out even just 286 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:16,640 beyond race day and figuring out how we can bring inclusion to every day, you know, it's a really 287 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:21,440 great way to do that. And so we're trying to do that every day, you know, through our ally 288 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:27,680 development program and more inclusion experiences beyond race day, whether that be, you know, an 289 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:34,160 outing or a move, you know, sensory friendly movie nights or whatever, we just want everybody to be 290 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:39,760 able to be included and involved in whatever they want to try. Yeah, can you maybe just elaborate a 291 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:49,120 little bit on that? So launched last November, our ally development program is geared at creating 292 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:55,040 disability allies, people that can help to promote inclusion, disability awareness, and disability 293 00:30:55,040 --> 00:31:02,400 acceptance in their local communities. And that's what the program is geared toward educating them 294 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:10,320 about what they need to do. And so the goal of the program is for each individual in the cohort to 295 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:17,440 create a community inclusion project that addresses a need in their local community, whether 296 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:23,680 it be, you know, an accessible playground or adult size changing tables in the in the restroom or 297 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:31,680 accessible entrances to businesses, whatever it is, and they're working on those projects now, 298 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:36,080 Yeah, I love that. And some of the I've stayed in contact with a few of the people that I met 299 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:40,960 from Boston when I came up to speak to that group. But I love how comprehensive it is, right. So 300 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:47,120 racing is important racing showcases inclusion, but there's a lot more to getting your community 301 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:52,240 involved and making your community more inclusive and accessible. So I think that program kind of 302 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:58,800 bridges that gap really nicely. Thank you. What is what's next for you guys? Do you have plans for 303 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:04,400 our next races? Yeah, what are you talking about what you're doing? Well, I mean, we have we have 304 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:09,120 a couple short races here and we will run with our local ambassadorship here all spring and summer 305 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:17,600 before she heads off to college. But we have some big plans for the fall. Yeah. So in October, 306 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:24,560 we're going to be running the Marine Corps marathon again. But this time I won't be running 307 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:33,680 with my dad. He's going to be pushing our friend, Jill, and my friend, my friend, John, who's also 308 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:41,920 an a six ambassador is going to be pushing me in his first marathon ever. So it'll be really fun 309 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:51,440 to see how he feels about that experience, not only being his first marathon, but his first time 310 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:56,960 pushing someone. Yeah, absolutely. Is that the first time that someone other than your dad has 311 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:07,840 pushed you in a race? Not maybe a marathon. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think about that sometimes 312 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:15,520 where like, for example, like I, we host a 5k for my gym. And so instead of instead of running, 313 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:21,520 I'm organizing the race. So Jacob doesn't participate because I'm not running. And I 314 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:26,160 sometimes wonder if like, if I would want someone else pushing him, I don't know, to me, it feels 315 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:30,640 like something that him and I do together, like it feels like a special thing that him and I do 316 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:35,040 together. So was there any part of you that was like hesitant to let someone else push Seamus? 317 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:41,280 There's been a few, there's been a few situations. One, you know, like he ran the, a mother love and 318 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:47,920 run 5k with my wife one time, which was really neat and a group of her friends. He's run a couple 319 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:52,560 races with me and Simon with Simon, his brother doing the bulk of the pushing again, that's all 320 00:33:52,560 --> 00:34:00,160 family stuff. But then we went down and ran the Louisiana marathon and I might've been like 2017 321 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:06,560 or 18. And one of his friends pushed him in the half marathon down there with a group of adults 322 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:11,840 that were there to assist as needed. So there's been a couple, you know, individual unique 323 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:17,840 opportunities, but I tend to be the same way, you know, I like having Seamus to lean on and that 324 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,800 smile to pull me along. And I have not really run a race other than a couple trail races when I was 325 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:29,600 training for the run across America. I haven't run a race without Seamus since 2012 or 2011 or 326 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:35,840 something. It's been a long time. Yeah. Yeah. I've never raced without Jacob and I never had raced 327 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:40,640 before Jacob and I started running together. So it's something that just, I guess that 328 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:46,800 uniqueness makes it feel a little more personal. Like, I don't think I would ever want to push 329 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,880 someone else. And I'm not sure selfishly whether I would want someone outside of my wife to push 330 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:58,960 Jacob. She's pushed him in like our local 5k and stuff, but it just does feel like some sort of 331 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:06,080 special bond that we've come in. I often tell my coach that I'm faster with the chair than I am 332 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,080 without. And maybe that's because I don't have any running experience or maybe it is a biomechanics 333 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:16,720 thing, but like for you, do you feel like it's a lot harder to run fast with the chair or? I mean, 334 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:22,480 I think over this Seamus and I have now been running together for, I mean, longer, but racing 335 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:28,400 together for 11 years. And I think that, you know, I just have kind of evolved into, you know, how to 336 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:32,720 master running with the chair. I don't feel like I need my arms anymore. And I do a lot of running 337 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:38,240 without the chair too, because I run with his brother Simon and we train together. But as far 338 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:45,840 as racing with the chair, like in Boston on Monday, I was glad I had the chair. Yeah, absolutely. And 339 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:54,240 maybe like, I kind of glanced over quickly, but in Boston, I guess, how did you feel like the course 340 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:59,040 was with the chair or how do you feel like running it was? Well, do you want to, I mean, 341 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:04,320 I had told Brendan we were going to go out at seven minute pace. Yeah, I was not lying. That 342 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:10,400 was my intention. You lied to me. I turned, the gun goes off and you already had like a 20 second 343 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:17,280 lead on all of us. You must have, I split 540 for the first mile. So you must have been 515 or 520 344 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:20,960 because you were a good, you were a good 15 or 20 seconds ahead of us. 345 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,480 You want to talk about those first few miles, Jay? 346 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:34,640 So when the gun goes off and we start out sprinting and my dad had told me his plan and I'm like, 347 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:42,960 I don't know how close they were sticking to the plan. And then we get about five miles in and I 348 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:48,640 get a text from my mom saying, what the heck? I thought you guys were sticking to six minutes. 349 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:57,440 I was like, tell your dad to save some for a heartbreak. So I read him that text and then he 350 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:04,800 reined it in a little bit. And we stuck to the plan of going slow, easy on the 351 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:12,320 uphills, cranked it on the downhills. And then through that plan, we were able to get our PR. 352 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:20,800 Yeah. I was just going to say as far as the course goes, as far as the course goes, 353 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:28,480 I forgot how undulating Boston was and I had run it six times, but it's been 15 years since I last 354 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:34,320 ran it. And those undulating hills, that's what beats you up because you're down and then you're 355 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:41,280 up and then you're down. And it's like what we train in all the time. But that's why my legs are 356 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:48,880 so sore today. I'm still feeling the ramifications as well. But yeah, it was something where I just 357 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:54,800 could not really slow down the first half. And I'm getting texts. We have our phone mounted on the 358 00:37:54,800 --> 00:38:00,480 arrow bars. I'm getting texts like, oh, you're crushing it. I'm like, no, this is not good. 359 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:05,440 This is not what I wanted. They're like, you're doing great. I'm like, it's not going to end well. 360 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:15,120 But I knew it was coming. My only disappointment is that I was cramping so bad by 17 that I couldn't 361 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:22,160 really run up the hills. But I actually didn't think the Newton Hills were that intimidating. 362 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:27,680 There's a lot of reprieves where you go uphill, but then you're kind of running on a flat or 363 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:34,640 downhill for a little bit of time. So they didn't feel quite as unrelenting as you may think. 364 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:39,440 I don't know. Yeah. And the last one is really where I felt it. And that was just the cumulative 365 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:43,680 effect of everything that we had done. But as soon as we got to the top, I kind of shook my arm, 366 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:52,000 shook my legs out, and we were right back into it. In fact, Simon was tracking us from physics class. 367 00:38:54,640 --> 00:39:00,480 And he said, Dad, I saw that you had this one mile that was 906. And he was worried. He figured 368 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,080 that I had cramped up or that we were going to struggle from there on. And then he said, 369 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:10,160 but the next mile was 608. Yeah, exactly. And it was good. And like you said, that reprieve, 370 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:16,320 and it allows you to use some different muscles. And for me, it allowed me to lean on Seamus and 371 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:20,640 let him do the work on the downhills. As long as my stride could go, I tried to let it go. 372 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,600 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's definitely different running with the chair. It's probably a type 373 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:32,000 of stride that you adopt to kind of like get used to over time, for sure. But you guys have a lot 374 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,680 of great resources. You have a book that you guys wrote together, right? If people are interested in 375 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:42,000 purchasing that or learning more about your story as a whole, is there a specific 376 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:48,000 website or channel that we should direct them to? Yeah, I mean, if people want to follow what Seamus 377 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:53,760 is up to or what Seamus and I are up to, our Instagram, Facebook pages are power to push. 378 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:57,840 That's power, the number two, and then push. And then as far as like ordering the book, 379 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:03,360 it is available on Amazon. But we prefer that everybody order from Ainsley's Angels.org. It's 380 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:09,920 the exact same price. It's free shipping in both places. But that way Ainsley's Angels gets a 381 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:16,720 little more of the profits. All the money for the sales of the books goes toward benefiting Ainsley's 382 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:22,640 Angels and promoting the mission of inclusion. And you know, eventually a goal of ours is to... 383 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:27,600 So that book primarily I wrote alone, but Seamus and I do have the goal of writing a book together 384 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:32,240 where I think it would be neat to kind of alternate chapters. So we'll see how his schedule allows us 385 00:40:32,240 --> 00:40:36,560 to do something like that. But that would be, I think, pretty neat in the future. Yeah, I'm sure 386 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:41,680 you'll have a lot of free time with your physics and mechanical engineering workload as well to 387 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:47,440 write a book. Sounds perfect. But yeah, we'll include some of those links in the show notes 388 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:52,000 so people can easily find them. And maybe lastly, if like someone wants to get involved with Ainsley's 389 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:58,080 Angels and if there isn't a chapter already in their community, what would be the process of them 390 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:02,960 starting one? Oh yeah, I really appreciate that question. You know, AinsleysAngels.org is the 391 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:08,400 place to go and then click join our family. If there is a location in your area and we are in 392 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:15,440 between 60 and 70 cities and towns across America, but if we're not in your local 393 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:23,360 area or region, there's an opportunity to become an ambassador. We take any interested individuals, 394 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:29,040 you know, through an application process and then again provide the education so that it's not such 395 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:36,640 a daunting task to be able to start and develop and create a thriving ambassadorship in their area. 396 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:42,240 Absolutely. Awesome. Yeah, so we'll include all those links so people can easily find them. 397 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:47,920 But Sean, Seamus, thanks for the conversation. Congratulations on Boston. I know it was a long 398 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:53,120 journey to get there and a great day, hopefully. You guys ran really well. Appreciate everything 399 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:58,800 you guys do for the world of inclusion and inclusive endurance sports as a whole. 400 00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:05,760 Oh, thanks. And likewise to you too, all that you do. And again, the cohort has reached out to me a 401 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:10,560 lot of times, you know, that said that they've been listening to your lectures and your podcasts, 402 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:15,360 and everything that you do. So we really appreciate it. I hope that we can keep that 403 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:19,760 relationship going for future cohorts and that you will continue to be involved because 404 00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:26,480 that means a lot. Yeah, you might catch us up in Sacketts Harbor as a last ditch effort of 405 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:30,960 making it into Boston again next year. Yeah, if you're interested in going to Sacketts Harbor, 406 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:35,440 I can put you in touch with the race director. So the Sacketts Harbor race director also ran 407 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:42,000 Boston on Monday. You were talking to him, right? I think I saw you guys talking to him before after 408 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:47,920 the race. Yeah, yeah, she's incredible. And I'm sure they would love to have another duo. Seamus 409 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:52,800 and I won't be there this year in Sacketts Harbor, because he'll be, you know, at school. 410 00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:57,680 But if you guys go up, maybe Simon and I will go up and run the half marathon or something and 411 00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:02,080 cheer you on. That'd be really cool. So let me know. Wonderful. I will. Thanks again, guys. I'll 412 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:07,920 talk to you soon. Yeah, take it easy, Brandon. Bye.