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SALT LAKE CITY -- Rachel Coleman is getting ready for her daily run. Running is one of her many passions.
"I love running because it's just up to me. You don't need any equipment, any tools. It's just you outside. It's just you running," she says.
But on this day Rachel is running with her daughter Lucy.
"Most of all I'm just happy Lucy's able to experience things that a lot of other people wouldn't even try," Rachel says.
When Lucy was born, the Coleman's wondered if this type of experience would ever be possible. They also have an older daughter, Leah.
"We found out Lucy had spina bifida at the 18-week ultrasound, and Leah was born deaf," Rachel says. "One in 1,000 babies is born deaf. One in 1,000 babies is born with spina bifida, and we got one of each."
But that hasn't stopped the Colemans from living every day to the fullest.
"With both of them, we just took the attitude, OK, well, we could wish this didn't happened. It still happened, so let's just educate ourselves, do the best that we can. Let's try to create a fun and amazing life that just surprises us all," Rachel explains.
A few months ago the Colemans decided to add yet another amazing adventure to their lives. They hit the track and started training for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. Once they got permission from the race committee to push Lucy in a jogging stroller, she may have been the happiest of them all.
"I was sitting on the sofa and my mom brought up the subject, and I wanted to run the marathon," Lucy says.
"It meant a lot to do something new and include the girls," her parents say.
Leah, 11, set the pace.
"It was just an awesome experience and I was really glad I got to do it," she says.
They did it in the exact same time -- 2 hours and 10 minutes. Lucy proudly wears her medal and told us, "I won first place in my age group."
Rachel says, "I think sometimes when you find out about a disability you make a lot of assumptions of things you can't do, they can't do, and we can't do as a family. So that's the game we play as a family - what else can we do, what else can we do with a wheelchair and sign language."
Rachel already has a plan. "This year, we have a goal to run a 5K with Lucy on our backs. That's an extra 50 pounds, but why not?" she asks.
E-mail: kaiken@ksl.com
