Team to Run Marathon with TBI Patient Along for the Ride

A team of athletes will run a half marathon today, but they won’t run alone.

Team Triumph is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities by fostering lasting, authentic relationships through the teamwork environment of endurance athletics.

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Today, one of the Wisconsin chapter’s members will have the opportunity to run alongside her stepson.

According to an article by Kenosha News, Jeannine Krueger will run the 8th annual Wisconsin Marathon along the Kenosha lakefront with her 8-year-old stepson by her side.

“Team Triumph pairs individuals with disabilities (captains) with able-bodied athletes (angels) with the goal of accomplishing a feat few believed was ever possible,” the article reads. “Krueger’s 8-year-old stepson, Ty, is riding the captain’s chair on Saturday. Ty suffers from traumatic brain injury, leaving him with cerebral palsy, feeding problems, visual impairments and multiple disabilities limiting his ability to walk.”

Krueger is quoted in the article as saying she realizes Ty has been through a lot in his short life and she just wants to help him to feel included.

“That is what Team Triumph has taught me,” she says in the article. “Inclusion not exclusion for those with disabilities. He’s a good kid that doesn’t get to participate in a lot of events.”

There will be five people on the team who will be participating in the half-marathon, which is 13.1 miles. The Runners will take turns pushing Ty in a three-wheeled racing chair.

Krueger raised more than $2,300 through Team Triumph’s online donation page and hopes to compete in two other races later this year. Krueger said her team’s training runs went better than expected despite the frigid spring weather.

She also said Ty has been a trooper while training for the big event – enduring cold, rainy days and always with a smile.

Team Triumph’s most well-known captain is Jenny Crain. She is a former elite runner who suffered severe brain trauma after being struck by a car in Milwaukee while training for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Crain is not entered in Saturday’s race, according to the article.