(NewsNation) — Running 168 miles across Virginia is an experience Steve Scott won’t soon forget.
It was at the grueling, five-day race from Danville, to Richmond, Virginia that Scott met a child with special needs that would forever shape his future running endeavors.
“It was just a blessing to meet them,” Scott said of being introduced to a young girl with autism and her family.
That experience led Scott to ask himself, “what else can I do with my running?” And running races for kids with special needs became a driving motivation for him mile after mile.
At first, he ran alongside the kids, in one instance tackling an 8K together.
“We ran and walked, ran and walked,” Scott remembers as “she couldn’t run too much because her little feet would turn in after she would go so long because her muscles would give up on her.”
It was then Scott decided he would run races and bring the kids along for the ride.
Scott was given a specialized running chair from Hoyt Running Chairs, the company associated with Dick Hoyt who pushed his paralyzed son Rick in over 1,000 races including marathons, triathlons and 6 Ironman races.
Scott was inspired by the Hoyt family running story.
“It’s an awesome story,” he said. “They just brought tears to my eyes. And I just said, ‘you know, this is something I want to do.'”
The special chair provides a safe and comfortable way for special needs kids to experience the thrill of running a race.
“Just to see the joy in their face when I’m doing this,” Scotts says. “They’ll holler ‘Go Mr. Steve, go Mr. Steve,’ you know, it’s just a joy to hear that.”
This past Saturday, Scott and his partner completed a 10K in Richmond in front of 30,000 people.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “And just to see the little kids go by and high five people out of the chair and hollering go, go go, it’s just touching.”
The goal for Scott is to be able to finish a race “with them knowing that they can get out here and do what you and I can do.”
Scott’s efforts provide a unique experience for children who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to see those crowds, hear the cheers and feel the wind on their faces as they cross a finish line.
Scott knows the impact that providing such experiences for kids with special needs can have.
“I lived in that world,” he said discussing his brother Michael who had Cerebal Palsy and passed away at age 25. “I kind of could relate to family situations of not getting your kids out in the public … and let them do things, letting them feel like a normal kid.”
Scott recently turned 60-years-old and lives in Danville, Va. He considers himself a compassionate person.
“I love people and I love helping people and doing what I can do to make people happy,” he said.
Scott’s running career started in 2014 as just a way to get exercise when the local YMCA no longer offered racquetball, a sport he had enjoyed.
He ran his first marathon in 2016 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he qualified for the Boston Marathon which he ran three years in a row.
“I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “When I first started running, I really didn’t plan on that.”
Scott doesn’t run for time, “but I still have competitiveness in me,” he said. “I compete with myself too, because it’s a challenge for me to do what I’m doing.”
Working with Danville, Pennsylvania Community Services, Scott’s running calendar is now full with races of varying distances planned in several states with a list of new running buddies.
Scott raised $20,000 in 2020, but his goals are more focused on sharing the experience with more kids.
“My goal in March of next year to be able to run a marathon with someone to see if I can qualify for Boston (marathon) with them,” he said.
Scott also has his sights set on running across America.
“And the thing is,” he said, “I want to push someone the whole way.”
To contact Steve, or get involved, you can email him at runninghoka777@gmail.com.
Watch the full interview with Steve Scott in the video player at the top of the page.