{"id":14606,"date":"2023-11-16T15:24:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=14606"},"modified":"2023-11-16T15:24:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:24:10","slug":"kayleigh-williamson-becomes-first-woman-with-down-syndrome-to-complete-nyc-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/11\/kayleigh-williamson-becomes-first-woman-with-down-syndrome-to-complete-nyc-marathon.html","title":{"rendered":"Kayleigh Williamson Becomes First Woman With Down Syndrome to Complete NYC Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@nycmarathon \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kayleigh Williamson, 33, made history as the first woman with Down syndrome to finish the New York City Marathon. Thousands of spectators cheered for Kayleigh as she crossed the finish line after her 10 hour journey. Her mother, Sandy, ran alongside her daughter the entire time, describing the experience as “emotional.” \u201cNew York changed the way I saw my daughter,\u201d Sandy said. \u201cEvery time she heard music she stopped to dance. It was very emotional for her at the end \u2014 the last two miles.\u201d Despite the pain, Kayleigh was determined to finish the race. \u00a0“Her muscles were sore and they were bothering her. Things like that. But Kaylee didn’t stop. She didn’t want to give up.” As for Kayleigh, she said that she’s a “diva” and stopped to fix her hair throughout the race and before crossing the finish line.<\/p>\n

Kayleigh’s running journey began in 2017. “It was at about the same time my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,” Sandy says. “So I implemented some healthy lifestyle choices. We just started running and I was already running and Kayleigh wanted to do some races with me.” Sandy continued, “My mom used to tell us she escaped from the nursing home and had traveled to all these places like California and Colorado. So what we started doing was finding races in those states to turn her temporary memory into permanent ones. Kayleigh would take her medal back and show it to my mom.”<\/p>\n

The New York City Marathon Instagram page posted a video of Kayleigh crossing the finish line, with the sweet moment going viral. \u201cKayleigh Williamson becomes one of the first women with Down syndrome to run a marathon at the #TCSNYCMarathon,\u201d the caption reads. \u201cSend some [love] to Kayleigh in the comments on this historic moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by TCS New York City Marathon (@nycmarathon)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n