Nov. 6, 2011, NYC Marathon Runner David Finland Had One Goal: To Finish Strong

The way we see it, Sunday’s New York City Marathon couldn't have gone any better for runner #21871.                   

As always with this young man, there were some surprises along the way. Early on, my 24-year old autistic son David suddenly threw it into high gear and "ditched" his Team Achilles guide at Mile 5, leaving behind his phone, ID, and Metro pass somewhere in Queens. Then family scouts spotted him looking strong and really happy at Mile 16. Fine enough.  Around Mile 18, an eagle-eyed someone from Special Olympics texted us that she'd seen him moving along at a fast clip; then another Achilles team member caught sight of ol' #21871 strutting his stuff through Harlem…before Our Dave finally crossed the finish line into the capable arms of his original guide, the remarkable Chris Cavan. By the way, Chris must have worked some kind of miracle, bringing him home to us safe and sound in a swift 4 hours 20 minutes.

So what's the takeaway for us? This young man has proven something that we have been longing to see from him for his whole lifetime. The way he ran his race on Sunday made believers out of of us all. That's right. Our David no longer needs a "guide." This was his personal best any way you look at it.

Glen Finland is the author of Next Stop: A Memoir of Family, due out from AmyEinhornBooks/Putnam in March 29, 2012.  www.glenfinland.com