Peter Tainer ran the mile for the first time when he was in first grade. He finished with a time of 12 minutes and 12 seconds. He came home crying because of the frustration running the mile on one prosthetic leg and a left leg that had a deformity on his foot from birth. After running the mile he had one request , “I want my left foot amputated.” His parents, who adopted him from South Korea at the age of six months agreed to his request.
Peter Tainer has not looked back since. Today, he runs the mile in under five minutes. He wears two running prosthetic legs that allow him to move with balance and symmetry. Tainer has won competitions all over the country and currently has his sights set on the Paralympic Games in Rio representing the USA in 2016. Before he does that, he’ll be stopping off in Downtown Roanoke on Thanksgiving morning to run in the Drumstick DASH for the Rescue Mission.
Meanwhile in Southwest Roanoke, another runner from the area is making record-setting headlines. Timothy Grider, now a seventh grader at Faith Christian School, set the record for the fastest mile by a sixth grader in the whole country last year. His record-breaking mile time clocked in at 5:02.
Grider enjoys running in 5k races all over the region, especially with his dad and brother who are also runners. His favorite 5k is the one he’ll be running in on Thanksgiving morning, the Drumstick DASH. “I’m hoping to finish it this year in around 17 minutes. It’s definitely one of the biggest 5k’s we do.”
If you are passed in the Drumstick DASH by Liewen Huang on Thanksgiving morning, he will be looking you in the eyes as he goes by. Huang, a computer engineer, runs backwards. Five years ago, Huang broke his ankle requiring a protective plate and eight bolts in his ankle. After surgery he purposed that not only would he walk, he would run in races like the Star City half-marathon and Blue Ridge marathon.
Huang then decided he wanted to use the running to help those that were already helping others. Huang knew he wanted to run in the Rescue Mission’s Drumstick DASH in 2010, so he thought he would help with additional fundraising for the Mission by getting co-workers to sponsor his running efforts.
Just to make it more interesting, Huang decided he would run the Drumstick DASH 5k backwards. He began practicing running 3 miles on the Greenway while going backwards. He tied a pillow to his back in case of falls, and there were a few falls. He practiced the 5k distance backwards about sixty times in preparation for the Drumstick DASH and raised money from many of his family and co-workers. He has now completed the Drumstick DASH backwards each year since, and is already signed up to run again this year, backwards of course.
Over 15,000 runners, walkers, babies, and four-legged participants took part in last year’s event that weaves in and out of the streets of Downtown Roanoke. The Rescue Mission is expecting more this year. Participants may sign up in person at 402 4th Street, SE Roanoke or log on to drumstickdash.net to sign up online.
