W
W
A
fter 17 years of run-
ning and 15 mara-
thons, I started a
new training chap-
ter when I met
Liam. He is blind, nonverbal, and
lives with hydrocephalus, cerebral
palsy, and severe scoliosis. He’s
also a delightful young man with
an infectious personality.
I got connected with Liam
four years ago, thanks to I Run 4
Michael, an organization that part-
ners able-bodied runners, like me,
with individuals who have disabil-
ities, like Liam.
After meeting in person in 2016,
we decided to complete a race
together—the Carlsbad 5,000
in April 2017—which marked his
first-ever race and my first race
pushing a running chair.
The experience provided a
boost of adrenaline that I hadn’tWHO Sarah Smith
Figure-skating
teacher,
Potomac, MarylandI
n March of 2015, I went on a moonlight trail
run. It was supposed to be a 16-mile jaunt with
friends in the mountains, but with the tempera-
ture in the low teens, ice formed inside my shoe
and I ended up with frostbite.
When I took my foot out of my shoe, my toes were
literally frozen together. Within about five minutes
they had turned purple, and I drove straight to the
hospital. They did hyperbaric oxygen treatment
and saved my toes, but I had nerve damage to the
point where they couldn’t touch anything. I couldn’tsleep with a sheet over my feet
at first. It felt like shooting pins
and needles.
For months, the only sock I could
wear on my feet were the Injinji
liner socks. Where a normal sock
would compress and push my toes
together, Injinjis keep my toes sep-
arated. Anything that presses my
toes together aggravates the dam-
aged nerves in my foot, causing
severe pain. Even now, if I grab my
foot and touch my toes together,
it’s like having ants crawl over me.
And the liner socks are the compa-
ny’s thinnest sock, so I don’t feel
anything on my toes at all.
Late that June, I started runningagain. I tripped and fell on my face
five times in my first 7-mile run.
You try because you want to do
something and you’re determined.
I knew I wasn’t going to quit and
give up running.
In October of that year—six
months after my injury—I com-
pleted my first 100-mile race, wear-
ing my Injinjis. All that mattered
to me was getting it done, and I
finished in under 28 hours.
I was in tears at the end. It was
a huge deal for me that I could still
do what I love despite the injury,
and if I hadn’t had those socks, I
wouldn’t have been able to run.
—As told to Tyler Daswickreally felt before, and it was just
so rewarding. We flew along the
course. I was immediately hooked,
and so was Liam. He can feel the
vibration of the running chair and
the wind in his face.
Like most young men, he likes
to go fast. And we soar on the
downhills, but because I’m pushing
300-plus extra pounds, we practi-
cally crawl on the uphills. It’s very
physically demanding. However,
one thing that’s helped me power
through our runs is the Simple
Hydration water bottle.
I discovered this product about
five years ago and have been
passionate about it ever since.
The bottom half of the bottle is
skinny, then widens at the top in
a shape that allows you to tuck it
comfortably in the band of your
shorts or running belt. It literally
doesn’t move around at all, and I
practically don’t notice it’s back
there—even when it’s full of water.
Whenever I need a drink, I can
easily pull the bottle from my
waistband, hydrate, and get my
hands back on the chair. It’s a
small comfort, sure, but it’s still
part of an experience that has
changed my life and Liam’s.
—As told to Jenny McCoyWHO Ty G o d w in
Software executive,
DenverWHAT Simple Hydr ation
water bottle, $19WHAT Injinji
Liner
Toesocks,
$10“THE
BOTTLE
I BARELY
EVEN
NOTICE.”
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