Soon after the Marine Corps Marathon and 10K, OAR Executive Director Mike Maloney received this e-mail from Maureen L. who was walking the 10K:
“Sometime along the course in the Crystal City area, I witnessed an extraordinary moment. I saw a father and son (I think) wearing OAR shirts…The younger man or perhaps he was a teen was happily running along with rosy cheeks and clearly enjoying the sheer delight of freedom at that moment, more or less oblivious to the thousands of others around him. The other man, a male relative or friend, was close behind…
“I just wanted to write and say (though I really can’t describe it) how moving it was to see this father’s love and dedication to the best interest of his child. Quite a pair of athletes! And what a team of ambassadors for OAR!”
That father and son pair were Wilson Chua and his 15-year-old son, Wallace, who has autism. They crossed the finish line to cheers from mom, Irene, and brother, Cameron, 8,who had come from the family’s home in Ashburn, Va., for the big day.
They were not the only father-son duo on the 10K course that day. Jay Kennard and his son, Andrew, 9, were also out running to raise money for OAR on behalf of son and brother, Chris, 7, who stayed home in Green Bay, Wisc., with mom, Mary Kennard. While Chris couldn’t be with them at the 10K, he knew what they were doing.
Altogether, the Chuas and the Kennards raised $2,300 through the Marine Corps Marathon 10K. Wilson and Jay have both run in previous marathons for OAR.
Time Together
While the funds raised for OAR are certainly a key part of this story, an even larger part of the story is about the father-son bond. As Andrew puts it, “I wanted to do something with my dad and I had lots of fun running the first 10K.”
Training and running the 10K was a great way for the two of them to spend time together, says Jay. “We’d just talk during runs. He would make up a funny way to run, like a penguin, for example. If it started raining, he might say, ‘Dad, we have to do something about this rain. Let’s penguin the rain.’”
Wilson Chua came up with the idea to run the 10K with Wallace. “Last year, at the completion of my fifth Marine Corps Marathon, I decided to take a year off running the marathon, and wanted to get Wallace involved. I thought it would be meaningful for him to run and raise money for autism research. I also thought that running would be a good exercise for him as well. I knew it would be a big challenge for him as he has never run more than a quarter mile in the past.”
He is appreciative that Wallace was willing to give it a try. “He’s a very easygoing person. He would go along with almost everything that we have asked him to do, even though he might not like some of them.”
As it turned out, both father and son enjoyed the 10K. Wallace told his dad after the 10K that “we are going to try the ‘Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon’ next year.” And that’s the plan, Wilson confirms. He has run the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon twice before to raise the awareness and money for autism research. The Chuas have an even bigger goal for the future: We hope that we can “both run the Marine Corps Marathon together!”
The Sky is the Limit
The Chuas started their training with one-mile walks a couple of months before the Marine Corps 10K. The weekend before the 10K, Wallace and Wilson ran and walked 6.2 miles. It wasn’t always easy, Wilson says, because Wallace needs constant verbal prompts and a push from behind to keep going. It was worth it though, he adds, to spend time with Wallace, and “get him out of the house to get healthy.” They also had the company of Wilson’s younger son, Cameron, who would go along on the training runs on his bike.
Wallace attends Heritage High School. Diagnosed with autism at 3, he often struggles with communication, academics, social/leisure activities, and functional skills, his dad says. He has limited language, and his answers are in a few words at the most.
For all of the struggles Wallace faces and the things he cannot do, his dad sees the potential in his son. “I realize that ‘nothing is impossible’ for him. Given opportunities and people being patient with him, the sky is the limit. For example, a couple years ago, Wallace was not able to swim 10 meters. Now, after years of practice, he can swim over 1,000 meters.”
At 9, Andrew was a veteran runner by the time he and his dad signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon. Along with schoolmates, he had participated in the Bellin Run, a local run that benefits the hospital. “We trained at school. There were 110 kids running the 10K.” That experience prepared him for running and training with his dad. When the time came to train for the Marine Corps Marathon 10K, Jay and Andrew ran two or three miles three times a week.
