Child with cerebral palsy crosses finish line at Wichita marathon (with race results)

Kendrix Crow brought the crowd to one of its biggest cheers on a dreary Sunday morning in Wichita.

With rain knifing down through 50-degree air, Crow was helped out of his stroller and across the finish line of the 2018 Prairie Fire Half Marathon. Crow, a 10-year old boy from Pratt, has cerebral palsy.

He cannot walk. He cannot talk. But he finished the 13.1-mile race on his feet.

“All through the race, we were telling him that the finish line was coming,” said Jason Miller, one of the men who helped Crow across the line. “We were getting closer and closer, and he wanted to see the finish line.”

Problem was, with the rain coming down, they had to put a plastic covering over his stroller, and the beading water on top meant Kendrix couldn’t see much outside.

Crow finished 738th at 2:31.58, but that didn’t matter. The crowd cheered as if he had won the race. And in some regard, he had.

Crow has gone through numerous surgeries and likely lost as many calories just sitting in his chair as the other runners did running the course. His condition forces his muscles to contract at all times, and that constant flexing burns calories often at three times the typical rate, said Tim Crow, Kendrix’s great-uncle.

“Just to see him smile at the end was worth every bit,” Tim said.

Tim Crow and Miller met four years ago at a race. They found out they ran about the same pace. One year, they ran 15 half marathons and a full as they went around the country, starting in Arizona and ending in Texas.

Sunday was Kendrix’s first half marathon.

And it wasn’t easy.

Miller is still recovering from back surgery he had in December. He injured his back and tore his left quadriceps after falling down a hill in his backyard while training for another marathon. He was forced out of racing for 106 days, but he ran his first half marathon since the surgery Sunday and helped push Kendrix, too.

About three miles in, the stroller got a flat tire. Miller said they looked for someone who could help air it up but didn’t have any luck, which made pushing much it more difficult.

Didn’t matter.

“A lot of the miles that I run, races that I run are for him,” Tim said. “I don’t know what to say about him. He’s just an awesome kid. He’s a lot of inspiration for us. That’s what keeps me motivated right there.”

Although Kendrix can’t talk, he communicates using an app on an iPad. That allows his family to get to know the brain inside.

Tim said Kendrix is a “sports fanatic” — from following sports at the University of Kansas, where his grandpa went to school, to Wichita State, from which his mom graduated.

Kendrix was full-go in the race. He had a bib, athletic gear and all.

“He was a participant,” Tim said. “That’s what it’s all about, and with our help, he did it. He did the same thing that we got to do.”

Cerebral palsy often affects those who have it before birth. It is a nervous disorder that causes involuntary movements and abnormal reflexes.

There is a grocery list of specialists, therapists and doctors who can help with the process, and medications can be administered to help ease the muscles, according to the Mayo Clinic. Kendrix comes an hour and a half east every week to Wichita for therapy and further treatment.

Tim said there is a device about the size of a hockey puck inside of Kendrix that gives him medicines throughout the day. There are treatments, but no cure.

Kendrix attends Southwest Elementary School in Pratt. He interacts with kids every day, and Tim said he has more personality than one might think.

“He’s 100 percent boy, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “He’s pretty ornery.”

So while other runners finished and rushed to find dry clothes and some warmth, checking their race times on their watches and rehydrating, a group of people cheered a boy who had a moment of his own in the spotlight.

“If he could do what we do,” Miller said, “he would.”

Results

Marathon

Men

Benjamin Kopecky, St. Louis, 2:36.25; 2. Ronald Lapoint, Maize,2:48.37; 3. Scooter Cichon, Pittsburg, 2:53.17; 4. Bryan Zack, Wichita,2:55.50; 5. Mindaugas Pukstas, Stillwater, OK, 2:56.05; 6. Brian Post, Cumming,GA, 2:56.55; 7. Johnny Vanderhorst, Lenexa, 2:56.57; 8. Philip Klassen,Toronto, ON, 2:57.26; 9. Brian Waters, Henrico, VA, 2:58.47; 10. Thomas Bacon,Kiefer, OK, 2:59.41

Women

Jamie O’Hara, Rochester, MN, 3:17.07; 2. Katie Kramer, BrokenArrow, OK, 3:18.22; 3. Savannah Fox, Rose Hill, 3:19.46; 4. Tamra Thompson,Wichita, 3:23.48; 5. Bryna Edwards, Lake Ozard, MO, 3:24.36; 6. April Harter,Andover, 3:29.30; 7. Angela Gerstenkorn, Wichita, 3:29.38; 8. Mindy Self,Wichita, 3:30.45; 9. Brooke Cero, Wichita, 3:33.48; 10. Tiffany Cone, Edmond,OK, 3:36.36

Half Marathon

Men

Gage Garcia, Wichita, 1:10.55; 2. Aaron Sherf, Norman, OK, 1:11.49;3. Korey Larson, Norman, OK, 1:15.15; 4. Daniel Yoder, Dodge City, 1:19.15; 5.Brett Arpin, Arvada, CO, 1:19.28; 6. Matthew Steinert, Wichita, 1:22.54; 7.William Parker, Lawrence, 1:23.10; 8. Kyle Martens, Wichita, 1:23.18; 9. PeteClemo, Wichita, 1:24.38; 10. Kipp Schuler, Oskaloosa, IA, 1:28.52

Women

Morgan Wedekind, Wichita, 1:19.55; 2. Amanda Goetschius, Norman,OK, 1:21.13; 3. Alisn Stevens, Leavenworth, 1:23.30; 4. Heidi Hines, Wichita,1:29.09; 5. Christina Addison, Burlington, 1:32.01; 6. Liz Cox, Tulsa, OK,1:32.56; 7. Sydnee Cole, Phillipsburg, 1:34.47; 8. Bridget Brown, Assaria,1:35.35; 9. Kimberly Crawford, Overland Park, 1:36.27; 10. Katie Siegrist,Wichita, 1:36.27

5K

Men

Anthony White, Wichita, 19:00; 2. Robin Johnson, Wichita, 19:44;3. Cody Fitch, Wichita, 19:55; 4. Steven Fitch, Round Rock, TX, 20:00; 5. MichaelCarman, Miami, OK, 20:14; 6. Eric Johnston, Wichita, 20:17; 7. Duke Jensen, ElDorado, 21:49; 8. Korbin Warden, Wichita, 21:58; 9. Canyon Mayer, Wichita,22:14; 10. Kyle Kost, Paola, 22:25

Women

Tammy Ritchie, Wichita, 20:47; 2. Brooke Kasprick, Wichita, 22:02;3. Jorah Reynolds, Wichita, 22:10; 4. Sarah Willis, Wellington, 22:14; 5.Tiffany Lippoldt, Wichita, 22:22; 6. Amaya Hamilton, Wichita, 23.40; 7. LeahRenner, Wichita, 24.28; 8. Donna Spoonemore, Hillsboro, 24:43; 9. Juli Davis,Bella Vista, AR, 24:51; 10. Bryli Christians, Cheney, 24:56

See the full results here.

This story was originally published October 14, 2018 at 3:57 PM.