CHICAGO BLADE RUNNERS
COMPETE IN BUCKTOWN 5K
Melissa Stockwell is an aspiring prosthetist, a Paralympian and an Iraq War veteran.
But those labels dont come close to offering a full portrait of the 29-year-old Forest Park woman.
For example, on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Bucktown 5K, you would have added this to her description: Chicago Blade Runner.
A resident prosthetist at Scheck & Siress, an orthotic and prosthetic company, Stockwell helped organize the entry of about 15 runners, both amputee and able-bodied, under the Blade Runners banner.
Then Stockwell went out and ran the course in 32 minutes and 6 seconds, finishing ahead of more than 1,000 of the events 4,000-odd entrants. The effort improved on her prior personal record for the distance by about two minutes.
"I'm excited," Stockwell said after the race. "My goal was 30 minutes, and still is 30 minutes, but Im really happy about moving closer toward reaching it."
Stockwell is no stranger to setting, then exceeding goals even as she defies expectations of what an amputee can accomplish athletically.
Believed to be the first American female amputee from the Iraq War, Stockwell set a national Paralympic swim record in the 400-meter freestyle event in April 2008. She later participated in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, where she was selected by fellow Paralympians to serve as the American flag-bearer during closing ceremonies.
Jason Wening, another Blade Runner, turned in an amazing performance in his own right on Sunday.
A certified prosthetist and the clinical research director at Scheck & Siress, Wening eclipsed his prior mark in the 5K by about 30 seconds. His time of 18 minutes, 34 seconds was good for 32nd place, placing him in the top 1 percent of runners.
The individual successes of Stockwell and Wening, inspirational as they are, go beyond the fundamental goal behind the creation of the group: to encourage amputees and those born without arms or legs that they can lead active, healthy lives full of possibility.
"We want to encourage as many people who want to participate to come out and do so," said David Rotter, who founded the Blade Runners about two years ago. "Amputees need to know that they have so many possibilities to become more active. They can run, if they want to."
A certified prosthetist, orthotist and pedorthist, Rotter is the laboratory manager for the Scheck & Siress office at the University of Illinois Medical Center. He is also the director of Scheck & Siress residency program.
Rotter ran the 5K with Erica Van Zuidam. She is an occupational therapy graduate student who in 2005, as a University of Illinois freshman, contracted meningitis that led to the amputation of both her arms and legs.
For her, running with the Blade Runners is a social outlet. "Even if you're starting, have at it," Van Zuidam encouraged other amputees. "it feels really good to be active."
The Blade Runners are open to any amputees and their supporters, not only those associated with Scheck & Siress, emphasized Rotter.
In his work, Rotter provides fittings for patients, including those that want running legs. Among his patients are Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who is Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. (Duckworth did not run in the Bucktown 5K.)
Joining them on Sunday were relatives, employees and friends of Scheck & Siress, which provides cares for the Blade Runners.
Each member of the contingent wore T-shirts with the words Blade Runners on the front. Plenty of 5K entrants who could not keep pace with them also saw what was on the back of the shirts: an amputee runner in mid-stride, against the Chicago skyline.
The clubs moniker comes from the nickname given to Oscar Pistorius, a 22-year-old South African double-amputee who won the Gold medals in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter competitions at the 2008 Paralympic Games.
To learn more about the Blade Runners, including how you may join the group, visit http://www.chicagobladerunners.com, contact Rotter at david.rotter@scheckandsiress.com or call 312-996-6450.
Founded in Oak Park in 1953, Scheck & Siress has grown to be the largest private orthotic/prosthetic practice in the greater Chicago area, with 30 technical assistants and 40 American Board Certified/Illinois-Licensed practitioners at 11 accredited orthotic and prosthetic centers.
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Chicago Blade Runners at Bucktown 5K: Erica Van Zuidamby ScheckAndSiress21,539 views
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