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Ben Comen's Inspiration Story of Running
(Reader Contribution to 8 of World's Most Inspirational People)
Ben Comen holds the record as the slowest cross country runner in the United States of America. On a typical 3.1 mile race, he takes 40-42 minutes to complete the race. But there is a catch in this inspirational story. Ben Comen is not a normal runner.
Ben Comen is an 18 year teenage who was born with cerebral palsy. Since young, he has limited control of his arms and stiffness in his legs that made running a strenuous task. When he sleeps, he has to wear a set of leg brace to keep his leg functioning properly. He attends regular physical therapy to ensure that he can lead as normal a life as possible. What is most amazing about this inspirational story is that Ben just wanted to run for his schools cross country team.
"I'm more relaxed when I run. When I run, nothing bothers me much." Ben who exclaimed with enthusiasm when asked why he enjoyed running so much.
From the time he was in school, Ben craved to be part of a sports team. But no one wanted someone like him to handicap their teams. At most people were only willing for him to be on their bench or as a water boy. They did not want him to participate. His parents would go out of their way to enlist Ben in one of the school's sports teams, but none were in favor of taking him in. This inspirational story never really took off until his high school cross country coach; Chuck Parker decided to take Ben into his team.
From the moment Ben joined his high school cross country team at eight grade, his inspirational story really started to impact others in the school and community. To reach competition standards, Ben would put in his hard work. Waking up before dawn on most days, he would go for his own training on his own, jogging around the community of Anderson, South Carolina. Some days, his siblings would join in. But mostly he trained on his own. For the past five years, Ben has been actively involved in competitions for his school team as well.
In all the races of this inspirational story of Ben Comen, he would line up with every other race participant at the start line. As soon as the starter's gun sounded, Ben would be quickly left behind to run on his own while the other runners powered ahead of him. Within the first few minutes, Ben would be running on his own over undulating terrain, slippery ground, around bends and turns of nature. Mostly, Ben is racing on his own trying to beat his personal best. That would be in the range of 40-42 minutes for a 3.1 miler.
Ben confided that it could get lonely and scary while running alone. Because of his inherent disabilities, falling down was also very much part of the race. But after each fall, he would get up again. To Ben, there is no such thing as quitting. He has been given the privilege of racing despite his handicap, he would definitely not quit on his dream. Part of his inspirational story also involved those running against him. At most races, after the participants completed their races in half the time Ben took, they would re-run the same race route and catch up with Ben to 'run him home'.
The finishes of Ben in his races were always a sight to behold. As Ben approached the finish line at dusk, his accompanying runners, including his siblings would cheer him on and help him up when he faltered. It reminded us of scenes of war movies we saw, when the King or great leader would lead the cavalry charge ahead of his horsemen. In these inspirational stories, the King was the inspirational leaders ahead of his troops. Similarly, as Ben came in towards the finish line, he was the inspirational leader to the others running behind him.
Ben Comen's inspirational story is a humbling one to us all. If someone with cerebral palsy could have a dream and fulfill it, what more is called of those of us who are normal. Ben Comen has been running all his life. Not from something but towards something.
sent by Jimmy
12/31/2010
source: http://inspiringsportsmotivations.com/ben-comens-ins…ory-of-running/
6 votes
12/31/2010
source: http://inspiringsportsmotivations.com/ben-comens-ins…ory-of-running/
6 votes
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