‘I knew I wanted to;’ Local teen with cystic fibrosis completes marathon
A teenager with cystic fibrosis from Butler County completed a marathon, our media partners in Cincinnati, WCPO reported.
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14-year-old Nolan Runkle completed the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine on Sunday, Oct. 15.
“It’s crazy. I never thought that I would do a marathon in the first place, let alone be the youngest person with cystic fibrosis to do it,” Runkle said.
Runkle has followed in his father’s footsteps and has been running for years, WCPO reported.
He started cross country in the 7th grade and currently runs for the Lakota West Freshman School in West Chester.
“When Nolan was three, we were at the Lakota West freshman building. All of a sudden Nolan just turned around to me and goes, ‘Mama, these legs are made for running,’ and took off,” Nolan’s mom Megan Runkle said.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that “affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs,” according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Nolan was diagnosed a few days after he was born.
“Every morning and night, I have to take pills. I also have to get in therapy,” Nolan said.
To start his day, he has to use a nebulizer to break up mucus in his lungs and a vest machine that shakes out mucus that has been broken up, WCPO reported.
He wears the vest for about 30 minutes a day.
“It’s just part of our everyday life, just kind of built it into our family. I don’t even think he really notices it too much anymore,” Megan said.
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Last year, Nolan ran a half marathon and this year, he was ready for the full race.
“My dad was like, ‘Hey, there’s a marathon popping up in Maine, you want to go?’ He was saying it’s kind of like a joke, but I knew I wanted to do it,” Nolan said.
Nolan added extra runs into his training schedule to prepare for the big day, even though he was already running about “25 miles a week” with his team.
Nolan crossed the finish line with a time of 5:12:57.
“I was tracking him on my phone and as I see him, he’s about a mile ahead of me. Then he’s about two miles ahead of me. I was grinning from ear to ear because I was super proud because I was like, ‘Not only is he doing this, but he’s beating me,” Nolan’s father Rob Runkle said.
The Runkle family believes Nolan might be the youngest person with cystic fibrosis to complete a marathon and they hope his story can be an inspiration to others.
“If a 14-year-old can do it, a 14-year-old with cystic fibrosis, you can do it. Whether it’s sports, any activity, or any event, you can train for it. You can do it. You just have to have the desire to want to do it,” Rob said.
Nolan is already looking for his next marathon, but he wants his story to bring more awareness to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, WCPO reported.
“Without the CF foundation and all the new pills safe they’ve been making; I wouldn’t have ever been able to do this marathon. I would have been stuck in a hospital bed my whole life, so I just want people to know it exists and that they can help,” Nolan said.
To learn more about Cystic Fibrosis or donate, visit their website.
