How Dyslexia is Like a Thirty-Mile Run

Describing a learning disability is hard, especially because reading and writing are difficult for me. People always ask me what it is like having dyslexia. During this past weekend, I found a good way to describe what I’m going through.

This past weekend, I ran 30 miles to raise money for a girl with leukemia, and a good question came up. A fellow runner, Zach, asked me what it is like to have dyslexia. I realized I did not have a good answer for him. Then, another friend, who is not a runner, asked me what it was like running 30 miles. While I was trying my best to describe to him the challenges of the run, it made me look more closely at the things I see every day. He gave me that same look I got from Zach, when I tried to explain what it was like to be dyslexic. Their faces expressed utter confusion. Without saying a word, they told me everything I needed to know: they really couldn’t understand what it is like.

Derrick Williams, a 2012 Anne Ford Scholarship Runner-Up, discovered the best way to describe his dyslexia while participating in a thirty-mile run. An avid distance runner, Derrick writes that running tests his limits and requires him to set goals and reach them, even when getting there is tough. He has taken these lessons from his runs to the classroom, where his perseverance led to him graduating from high school with honors.

Within that confusion, I found similarities between running 30 miles and having dyslexia. The two struggles find ways to test me. In some ways, they make my life extremely fun and rewarding. Both require me to set goals and reach them. The biggest similarity is that they are both very challenging.

Dyslexia and running 30 miles both test my patience. Coming up to the checkpoint eight miles into the run I remember thinking: “wow, I still have 22 more miles to go – maybe I bit off more than I could chew.”  I then realized that I was eight miles closer to finishing than I was over an hour ago. I tried to think about how far I had come to get to the point where I am now, rather than how far I need to go. Sometimes, I think about how hard I have to work to read as fast or write as well other kids, but when I realize how far I have come, my frustrations dissipate.

I don’t usually realize my gains until someone points them out to me. The time that my mom recognized my gains is still stuck in my head. I was in the seventh grade; we were watching the movie Evan Almighty. In the movie, there is a scene where Evan is struggling to build an ark and someone buys him the book Ark Building for Dummies. I started laughing. My mother then paused the movie and asked me why I was laughing. I told her it was because he bought him the book Ark Building for Dummies. I will never forget what she said: “A year ago you never would have read that book title on the TV if you didn’t have to.”

A few years ago a peer asked me if I could imagine how smart I would be if I was a better reader. My answer to that was simply “No.” I realize having a LD doesn’t make me any less smart. Without my LD, I would not be anywhere near the student I am today. Having worked so hard in school to overcome my disability has made me an outstanding student. Without it, I probably would have been average and not tried as hard. My dyslexia has fostered a love for challenges in me, which affects every aspect of my life. I know I would not have decided to run 30 miles if it was not for a passion of seeing what I could do with what I have.

Believe it or not, running and dyslexia are “fun.” They give me the opportunity to learn about myself in ways that people without a LD might never learn. I can answer the question “How do you learn best?” I don’t think very many students can answer that question. I know that I have to work harder to achieve the same amount of work. It also takes me twice as long to read the same amount of material as others, and it’s important for me to remind teachers that I need extra time.

With dyslexia, the most challenging thing is being treated differently. This was especially true as a young kid with a LD. I spent most of my young life attempting to disguise it. In fourth grade, I was in resource class and my teacher asked me what my primary goal was in his class. I told him my goal was to get out of resource class. I just wanted to be treated the same as all of the other kids. He went on to explain that it probably would not happen. Those echoing words just added more fuel to my fire, and I worked hard to make sure I was in the same English and Reading classes as all of the other students.

When I have challenges in life, I face them head on and never let anyone tell me that I cannot accomplish my goals. I know without my imperfections (my LD) I would not be the motivated, poised, and driven individual that I am today.