Wheelchair Racer Continues Drive at 2013 Katie’s Run

In most of the road races in which he competes, Peter Hawkins is the only participant in his category; that being a wheelchair racer.

“There’s one other kid (Adam Cruz) that’s pushing a chair competitively, he lives out in Brentwood so I haven’t seen him, he lives out in West Islip and he’s pushing really well,” Hawkins said. “When I see him in a race I know I’m going to have to push really hard.”

The 43-year old was in New Hyde Park on Sunday to participate in the Fourth Annual Katie’s Run 5k race, which benefits the Ronald McDonald House. The race is named in honor of Katie McBride, who passed away at the age of 11 from Burkitt’s Lymphoma which turned to leukemia.

But other chair participants are not his only competition as being given a 10 second head start Sunday, he knew to watch out for eventual overall winner Ryan McDermott.

“I know when he’s in the race I’m going to have to push hard because he runs really fast,” Hawkins said. “Knowing that there’s a good runner behind me makes me push a little bit harder, whether it’s a runner or a chair. When I come out here I know that it’s pretty much I have to push myself and that’s what I do.”

Hawkins finished with a time of 14:42 and afterwards could be seen in McDermott’s circle with Ryan’s brother Kevin, who is also in a wheelchair after suffering a spinal injury when he dived into a swimming pool about two years ago and with whom Hawkins had not previously had the opportunity to speak at any prior race about coping post-injury.

“When I first got hurt my coaches and teachers said ‘oh, you see guys in wheelchairs in marathons all the time’,” said Hawkins, who as a multi-sport athlete in football and lacrosse at Valley Stream Central High School when as a passenger in a car he was ejected, fractured three vertebrae and suffered a spinal chord injury when the driver started drag racing and lost control of the vehicle.

“So you go from being captain of the football team, linebacker, fullback to waking up two weeks later and you’ll never walk again and it’s quite an adjustment to make at 17 years old,” Hawkins said. “I know for me when I went back to watch the sports I played there was a little bit of ‘I should be there’.”

Hawkins’ decision to get in a wheelchair racer was more to do with getting back in physical shape at first, but after several months he decided to compete in a race and was beaten by Robert Loughlin, whose father was friends with his mother.

“When he beat me I was (upset) because I got beat, it was the first time that the competitive spark was back and I started getting a little bit more consistent with my training, little more serious about it and kinda, it’s taken me here 26 years later,” he said.

Hawkins plans on competing in the Peachtree Road Race on Fourth of July in Atlanta and which draws some of the best wheelchair racers from around the country.

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