A unique road race is being held at Hudson Mills on August 23rd. It’s part of the Unified 5k series of races that have been held around the country this year, with one also taking place in Africa. A big part of these races is about bringing a better awareness to the barriers that people with intellectual and physical disabilities experience to participate in fitness and physical activity.
The event is being brought to Dexter through a partnership between the non-profit, AdaptX, and University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness. They’re hosting an inclusive road race at Hudson Mills to give people with and without disabilities the opportunity to walk, run, or roll. The event also includes an adaptive sports expo where the organizers will showcase adaptive sports, assistive tech, and the sponsors’ services.
To learn more, the Sun Times News connected with one of the event organizers, Brendan Aylward of AdaptX, which is based out of Massachusetts and has been hosting the Unified 5k here in Lancaster, MA for seven years.
“This year, our goal was to expand it into a series of events and promote inclusion in communities around the country,” Aylward said. “Our race in Dexter is the 7th Unified 5k that we’ve hosted this year: Rhode Island, Utah, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Gulu (Uganda). So it is the inaugural event in Michigan.”
The partnership between AdaptX and Michigan began several years ago when the non-profit worked with the University of Michigan fitness and recreation department to educate their staff and students on disability inclusion and adaptive fitness. That’s when Aylward said he first connected with Erik Robeznieks from the adaptive sports and fitness department who did a webinar for AdaptX on how university recreation and athletic departments can be more accessible and inclusive.
AdaptX works to create access to better health and fitness for individuals with disabilities through education, research, advocacy, and scholarship.
“University of Michigan is pioneering collegiate adaptive sports and it’s an honor and exciting to be partnering with them for this event,”Aylward said.
He said the goal is to “give people with disabilities the opportunity to race, to educate communities about adaptive sport and disability inclusion, and fundraise for our grant program to make fitness and physical activity accessible.”
As part of the event they also donate a running blade or Hoyt running chair at every race and connect with a local fitness facility (the Ann Arbor YMCA for this race) to help improve their accessibility and adaptive fitness offerings.
Anyone can participate in the Hudson Mills race. From traditional runners to adaptive athletes, anyone can register for free using the coupon code “adaptive” and participate with whatever adaptive equipment/assistive tech they prefer. The event recognizes the top finishers in 7 adaptive categories. Community members are also invited to come watch the race or participate in the adaptive sports expo, where Michigan Amputee Soccer will be showcasing their sport and PEAC will have adaptive bicycles for people with ID/PD to try out.
Aylward said they hope to address the many barriers that people with intellectual and physical disabilities experience to participate in fitness and physical activity “and we want people to see that para/adaptive sport is not lesser than; it’s elite, high level competition.”
To register, go to https://unified5k.org/race/dexter-mi/ and to learn more go to the website www.unified5k.org, which gives a bit more insight into the event and its initiatives.
Photo of the race in Massachusetts courtesy of AdaptX
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
