Woman to race in Around the Crown 10K despite physical challenges

Some of Zoë Calhoun’s favorite childhood memories include running 5Ks with friends.

However, she has Williams syndrome, which causes chronic pain and makes running impossible as an adult.

“It starts really fast, like, my pain,” Calhoun said. “I’ll start running or walking, and it’ll just start, and I can’t, like, finish.”

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Calhoun is on a racing team for Around the Crown, despite her physical challenges.

“People like me who have chronic pain can’t really run, so it was very inclusive for all people who can’t run,” she said.

Alex Noriega and two other runners are pushing Calhoun in an adaptive racing chair.

“You’re not running for yourself,” Noriega said. “You’re running for someone else. And before you hit the first mile, you think, ‘Oh my God. Can I really do this?’”

They met through the nonprofit, The Ability Experience.

During this year’s race, 22 runners will push nine athletes in racing chairs.

“They really focus on creating inclusive sporting or athletic events for people with disabilities,” Noriega said.

The other runners have some tough competition this year.

Calhoun and Noriega won first place in 2023 in the Women in Wheelchairs Division.

There, Calhoun crossed the finish line on her two feet.

“I told them when I wanted to get out of the wheelchair and they went [shwoosh],” she said. “And then they stopped me, and then I got out and I ran, and it’s like, yay!”

Calhoun said she’s excited to run alongside thousands of other athletes and be a part of one of the biggest races in Charlotte.

“You can still be with everybody, and they cheer you on, and you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I can’t run,’” said Calhoun. “It’s OK that you can’t run because you’re running in a different way.”

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