Father-son duo run for a cause

March 11--Erik Heine loves to run, and his son, Stephen, loves the feel of the wind on his face.

It's the perfect combination for the father and son to bond over local road races. On Saturday, the pair ran the O'Connell's St. Patrick's Day 8K, which started on Campus Corner. The race benefits Special Olympics. Erik ran while pushing Stephen in a special wheelchair.

"We focus on where the proceeds go for races, and Special Olympics is very special to us," Erik said.

In five weeks, Erik will run the Boston Marathon. On Saturday, Erik and Stephen crossed the finish line in the No. 12 slot with a time of 33:01, claiming first place in Erik's age group (40-44) and in the Master's Division, a pretty impressive feat, onlookers said, for a guy pushing an 11-year-old in a wheelchair.

Saturday's 8K was the father-and-son duo's first race of the year and the first with Stephen's new wheelchair. Stephen can walk, but he enjoys joining his dad for the ride on race days. Still, he's sensitive to the cold, so they were grateful for the pleasant race-day weather this weekend.

The green shirt Erik donned for race day wasn't special for the St. Patrick's Day run; it's a Green Lantern shirt.

"Stephen is nonverbal, but the Green Lantern is his favorite superhero because anything he can imagine, he can make happen," Erik said.

With unicorns on his running socks, Erik exemplified a role model of hope for his son, who has faced special challenges since birth due to a rare genetic disease.

Mom Patty and little brother, Theo, 2, cheered on Erik and Stephen. Patty said Stephen has Rubinstein Taybi syndrome, a disease so rare that only one in a quarter million people have it, but fortunately, the signs were easy for a geneticist to recognize when they sought a diagnosis for Stephen at 18 months old.

Prior to his diagnosis, Patty said they knew he was experiencing some delays in development. Identifying the exact problem also helps them deal with any typical health concerns that come along with RTS.

Special Olympics has been a good outlet for Stephen. In addition to accompanying his dad on races, Stephen competes in unified bowling and unified bocce through Special Olympics. The unified sports pair Stephen with a typically developing athlete.

"He is paired with his best friend, another fourth-grader," Patty said.

Stephen met this friend because he's mainstreamed in most of his classes and the pair just hit it off, she said. Stephen also will compete in the javelin throw.

While Stephen is nonverbal, he communicates through an app on his iPad, and he's got a canny sense of humor. While they live in Oklahoma City, they love the run in Norman.

This year, that run was made easier by the new chair, made possible for the family by Ride to Give, an organization that pairs athletes with causes to raise funds. In this case, a female triathlete competed in an Iron Man to raise money for Stephen's chair.

To give back, Erik will run the OKC Half Marathon in April as a fundraiser for another recipient through Ride to Give.

Norman Special Olympics gold medal swimmer Kathryn Taylor was on scene Saturday to make a short sprint and high five in a special demonstration run. While Taylor said swimming is definitely her sport, she said fast feet run in her family.

Her brother, Press Taylor, is a quarterback coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Brother Zac Taylor is a quarterback coach for the LA Rams. Both were standout quarterbacks for Norman High during their high school years.

"I work at OU Couch Cafeteria," Kathryn said. "I'm also with Young Life. I work with kids with special needs."

While everyone who completed Saturday's race was a winner on some level, former OU track and cross country runner Dan Schubert, of Tulsa, was the first across the finish line this year. Schubert edged out former OU teammate Norman runner Aaron Sherf, who came in second.

"Running through OU's campus and Norman brings back a lot of good memories," Schubert said.

Sherf, who has been training for the OKC Memorial Marathon coming up the last weekend in April, said he didn't mind being edged out in the 8K by his former teammate.

"It was good to see him again," Sherf said. "I haven't seen him in a couple of years."

Norman runner Amanda Goetschius was the first woman across the line and sixth overall Saturday. She will run the half marathon at OKC Memorial race next month.

Other Norman speedsters in the top 10 included Korey Larson, Tyner Moring, Brett Leemaster, Brennan Avery and Andrew Call. Matt Cluck, of Oklahoma City, was No. 7 across the line, and 18-year-old Jared Sutton, of Yukon, finished in ninth overall.

Wheelchair racer David Satre is a regular at the annual Norman 8K.

"I did a lot better than I expected," Satre said this year.

He attributed the good weather and fast course for the day's good results. Satre is a regular at Norman races and said he's looking forward to running the full OKC marathon this year.

Race organizer Meg Corn said about 280 people ran this year. Depending on expenses and sponsorships, the race usually generates between $4,000 and $6,000 for Special Olympics.

___

(c)2018 The Norman Transcript (Norman, Okla.)

Visit The Norman Transcript (Norman, Okla.) at www.normantranscript.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.