Laura's theme
August 9, 2004
By Cam Tait
EDMONTON, AB // Stride after stride, footstep after footstep, Laura Ulmer made her way around Foote Field on Sunday afternoon. She was in the women's 10,000-metre at the Canadian Paralympic Track and Field Championships and Open Challenge. She had the track, basically, to herself. As a newcomer to disabled sports, she was in the Paralympic developmental category.
The 22-year-old Edmonton women knew the 10,000-metre was a daunting challenge. She brought up the back of the track and was out-lapped by the leaders several times. But she kept running, bringing her knees high, never slowing down, and focusing on the end of the race.
Then, 52 minutes into the race, the unthinkable happened. She had just passed the northeast end of the stands when her coach came over to her and slowly walked Laura to the infield of the track.
Event officials knew Laura was on lap 23 of her 25-lap crusade. But time was their biggest enemy. They had to schedule following races. The decision, right or wrong, forced Laura to stop her race.
Laura went over to the stands, where her aunt was waiting, for a much-needed
hug. There, she broke down and cried. The race was something she had
trained for, something she thought about and something she knew, in
her hearts of hearts, she could do.
Bitterness and disappointed were the two words she used to describe her feelings. Race officials said there was a time limit of 40 minutes on the race. But Laura claims she was never told about the time standard.
For race chair Cal Suleta, it was a tough call...a call he agonized over. "I just feel terrible about this," he said. "It's a rule I wish we didn't have to enforce."
Other people at the event were miffed by the decision as well. But there were some who said they have seen races stopped in international competition - even at the Olympic level.
After letting the pain set in, after letting it out, and after composing herself, Laura had made her own decision. Supporters wondered if she was still planning on racing, or if this was just a pill that was too bitter to swallow.
"I wasn't just running for me," she said. "There aren't a lot of runners with visual impairments who run long distance."
She swallowed hard and held her head high. "I'll continue racing."
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