Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Athletes are gearing up for Saturday’s strenuous Ultimate Challenge MudRun including a special participant ready to make his mark on the race.
Fifteen-year-old Ryan Unumb has been training with three of his therapists at the Autistic Academy of South Carolina for four months.
Ryan is autistic and nonverbal but his spirit and athleticism speaks volumes and energizes everyone around him.
“Just to see his every day growth and to see how much improvement he can make between week to week on different obstacles,” Ryan’s therapist Courtney Lindler said of Ryan’s efforts. “We have to do a lot of agility work, a lot of long distance running. The run is 6.2 miles, so we’ve been increasing that per week in terms of how much he runs.”
“He will just break into sit-ups and mountain climbers and other exercises on his own because he enjoys it so much,” Dan Unumb said of his son's athletic abilities.
“He is doing the exact same course as everyone else is. I’m sure he’s doing it faster and better than I could,” Unumb beamed. “He’s in great shape for it, and it just shows that folks with autism can participate fully in the community just like everyone else.”
The Legendary Ultimate Challenge MudRun is this Saturday in Columbia.