After being told she might never walk without a limp again, Clinton native Kellie Wiswell exited the Spaulding Rehab Center in Boston three and a half years ago and headed straight for the Boston Marathon finish line.
Capturing a photo of herself atop the iconic blue and yellow stripe, Wiswell made a promise to fulfill her dream of running the Boston Marathon one day — a dream that will become a reality this coming Monday.
“I told myself, ‘I’m not going to let this totally defeat me,” Wiswell said.
Armed with unwavering perseverance, Wiswell has willed her way to the 128th annual Boston Marathon where she will be competing alongside a field of nearly 23,000 runners.
Her journey began in June 2020 at the age of 34, when a stroke took away her ability to walk properly, a condition known as gait apraxia.
While standing at her kitchen counter, Wiswell’s left hand unexpectedly went limp. Then the sensation disappeared and suddenly spread to the rest of her body. After 24 hours at the emergency room, Wiswell was finally diagnosed with a rare heart defect that caused the stroke, putting her passion for distance running in jeopardy.
“I decided to get into running after high school, and in 2015 I ran my first half marathon — I was hooked,” Wiswell said. “I ran my first full marathon in 2018, and had a dream of running the Boston Marathon. At the time, I didn’t realize how difficult that would be.”
Following her recovery from heart surgery, Wiswell discovered a lingering limp in her left leg, and despite several rounds of physical therapy, couldn’t regain her normal stride.
Wiswell’s brain had ultimately forgotten how to signal her body to walk fluently, but she soon realized that it hadn’t forgotten how to let her run.
Later that summer, Wiswell was escorting her 4-year-old daughter Sierra through a parking lot, when suddenly she took off and Wiswell had to chase after her. Somehow, Wiswell’s legs didn’t come out from underneath her, and her daughter exclaimed, “Look, mommy, you’re running!”
From there, Wiswell returned to her craft, dedicated to accomplishing her goal of running the Boston Marathon. Starting with short jogs around her property, Wiswell gradually eased back into road running, culminating in a half marathon run to the same hospital she was rushed to exactly 365 days prior.
Flash forward to the present day, and Wiswell has raced in three more full marathons, working her personal record down to 3:49:11 (8:45 mile pace). On Monday, her entire family will be in attendance to see her cross the finish line she vowed to traverse nearly four years ago.
“I’ll limp while walking to the start line, and run strong to the finish line,” Wiswell said. “If you’ve got a dream, don’t stop until you reach it. I’m showing my kids I didn’t give up.”