last runner who never surrenders to fate
"There was a runner who was very tired walking. When he passed the turning point and saw us walking with two walking sticks, it gave him the courage to continue." Ae Kamphon Kittipojwilai Tell us about the atmosphere of the running event that you have been accustomed to for more than 10 years.
If anyone has ever been to a road running event in Bangkok, they will often encounter A walking with his trusty cane at various running events. And they are often regulars at the Run Together event, where disabled and non-disabled people run together. Including the city building run organized by Faculty of Architecture Chulalongkorn University The faculty he graduated from
Going back about 15 years ago, A, a young and energetic photographer. that life is encountering a big monsoon Both heart and body are tired. Decisions last only a second As a result, he Broken heel bone Severed coronary arteries, torn lungs, broken spinal nerves, etc. had to undergo multiple surgeries!!!
After that...A's life was no longer the same.
“Disability” comes with life changing upside down. He remains under the care of doctors. and physical therapists always Working life after the accident is a professional fashion photography workshop.
“One day, a friend who went to university together invited him to join a running event. Actually, it's better to call it stuffing. Because we had already applied for a distance of 1 lap around Sanam Luang,” A recalled the first running event when he started walking. “Bangkok Marathon 2013” that was 10 years ago.
“Before that, we lived in a wheelchair. or walking with two canes for short distances a few hundred meters And the lifestyle before us was no longer a sportsman. We were not prepared at all. Six years after the accident we walked a few hundred meters. which is just walking for daily use only So I talked to the physical therapist who took care of us. and practiced for about half a year.”
The physiotherapists have designed training exercises including walking in water, cycling, lifting weights, etc., with the goal of walking 1 lap around Sanam Luang of A. and practice together regularly When the work day arrives He sat on the back of the physio's motorcycle heading towards the launch point at Sanam Luang.
“When we arrive, we probably walk. Let's finish as we aim and go home.” In his head, he thought like that as he had never experienced the atmosphere of a running event before.
“Thousands and thousands of people.” He was shocked by the sight before him. Along with the atmosphere of the running event, which is bustling with people, cheering supporters, and various shops that come to set up booths at the running event.
“The distance just around Sanam Luang makes us think about many things. Like in life,” A began to tell about the atmosphere.
“We are professional photographers. There are many acquaintances. When we become disabled, we lose our jobs, everything, and everyone around us also disappears. When we left the starting point there were thousands and tens of thousands of people. We are slower than old people, slower than children, that is, when we walk away, there is no one left. In his speed, we couldn't keep up. It makes us think back to the feelings of the time when everything was lost. I think of new accidents. There was nothing we could do and people began to disappear from our lives one by one. Until in the end we had to be alone with ourselves,” A told us about the first feeling of walking and running that flashed through her.
“But when we walk with people at the point of reversal There were a lot of cheerleaders there. From an open world with no one to meet many people, when we walk, people give us encouragement. It's similar to when we started to heal ourselves. Come back to life Met new people.”
“One round of walking and running is like telling. My own life timeline When you turn at Wat Phra Kaew, you will enter the finish line. I told myself We're about to succeed. I've been practicing for half a year. At that time in the running event there was a question: Run for a reason. Run for what? Got the answer that All in walking is the answer. We look at our past lives and in the end we have to move on, move forward.”
Small victories in the first step with memories that will never be forgotten.
It was his first victory step. who brought himself to walk further than every time and enter the running field From someone who used to live in a wheelchair to walking with a cane just a few hundred meters and come to run This was a mission that A was able to complete.
“There was an older brother who we hadn't seen for almost 10 years. He saw that we were going to the Bangkok Marathon. He ran a full marathon. and received a finisher shirt We never knew the meaning of this shirt. And this older man was waiting at the finish line with a shirt for him. We received it confusedly. At that time, we didn't know any customs in the running event. We still keep the shirt. And this running event is The beginning of everything, which is another world that we never thought of getting involved in.”
last runner
The next year after the first running event, A set a goal for herself to conquer the running event. Starting from each year And after a while, I started running several events a year according to my own interests. The current longest running distance is 10 km.
“When going to every running event Release yourself for a moment. We will walk alone with emptiness. and walk to the finish line as the last runner every time. After that, it's like meditating with yourself. Any event that encounters people at the turning point will be a cause of excitement. He will encourage us. And we encourage each other. Some people walked and were tired. Then when he met us he kept running. It is an encouragement that even if we have a body like this We can live together with other people in society. ”
Run together, conquering a distance of 10 km.
Due to the route and cut off time in the running field, A is unable to do all the running events that she wishes to do. Therefore there is a specific event that can be run every year, that is, run together, where people with disabilities run with people without disabilities. run together for an unlimited period of time
“We ran with two friends for a distance of 8 km, which at that time was further than we had ever walked. No one at the event knew that we were competing. It's really time. other disabled people He is still faster than us. Turns out we were the last to walk the entire route with a friend. When the distance was longer than we had walked, it was very tiring. When the organizer found out about it, he quickly came around to take a look. Because there is still 1 disabled person left who has not yet crossed the line. and help each other cheer for him to cross the finish line A team ran to pick us up.”
“There were girls cheering all the time. We don't know each other. Someone said that he is deaf. I'll say it a little louder. At that time, it was another feeling that we had never experienced, where fellow disabled people were cheering. And when we crossed the finish line, there was actually a team waiting for us behind the finish line.”
After that, the run together event became A's annual challenge. How to make your time better? “It is a warm event. When we're bad There will be people who are always there to support you. We hardly have any time when we are alone. The atmosphere was great and there was full energy from the people with disabilities. We live together like brothers. and try to support our mission in every way The time I ran Until we can run within 10 km.”
Equipment to help you walk and get back to doing what you love.
“Before Turbomed This means that the two shoes are not equal. Next, there are people who have the same symptoms as us if they keep releasing their toes. The tip of the foot is swollen, no matter how you measure it, it rubs against the edge of the AFO. Sometimes it swells when you take it off. In the end, we didn't want it, didn't use it at all, and walked by dragging our feet all the time. In the running event, we dragged our feet like that.”
Until 2019, when I met Mong Mongkol from Dr. May's advice. that treats and cares for So I had the opportunity to get to know Turbomed XTERN's equipment set.
“When we called and talked, we couldn't picture it. We thought it was similar to the original, but when we saw it, we felt really amazing. The Turbomed
“The mechanism is different from a plastic AFO that is in a shoe. The first is that the device is outside the shoe. That is, we can buy the same shoes. The next thing is that we don't have to have any metal attached to our feet. They won't swell. Just these 2 things make us really want to use them. We've been dragging our feet for many years. I'm tired. My shoes are broken . Equipment can solve this problem. Why wouldn't we want to try? So I'm very excited.”
During her life before the accident, A was a great lover of sneakers. But when an accident happened, his passion gradually changed. It was placed like that. Because I can't wear normal shoes.
“We really like the sneaker line. When we go to work abroad, we only buy sneakers. When we are disabled, we cannot buy anything. Endure using it like that until your shoes break. We feel like why do we have so many pairs of shoes?
But after using the Turbomed XTERN equipment, we felt that How many pairs of shoes can you have? The way we used to like feel very happy And it really helps promote the quality of life of people with disabilities. Time put into running We walked faster than before. Have better walking efficiency Until being able to set goals for improving walking and running times.”
Authors : Arphawan SPTMR.
Former health website editor who still loves writing about health-wellness People who love running, both road and trail running. Crazy about taking care of your health. It is believed that people in this world meet each other because of fate. And life cannot be without coffee.