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Inspirational Montgomery Making Most of Opportunities at 2014 New Balance Nationals Indoor

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DyeStat.com   Mar 15th 2014, 12:36pm
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Kayla hopes her story makes a difference

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 
History may remember Friday's girls 5,000 meters at the New Balance Nationals Indoor as the race where Tessa Barrett broke the national record, but you can bet your last dollar that the images you are mostly likely to see on television will be of Kayla Montgomeryfalling into the arms of her coach after finishing eighth.


Even Montgomery, whose amazing story of perseverence and athletic achievement in the face of an incurable multiple sclerosis diagnosis has caught fire with national media, admits that past couple of weeks have felt "weird."


On Friday at The Armory -- where well-meaning evangelizers of the sport go to extraordinary lengths to entice the press to events like the Millrose Games -- there was a film crew from ESPN E: 60. And another one from Fox for a program called "My America with Elizabeth Hasselbeck." And USA Today had a reporter there. And someone from Vanity Fair. And a documentary film maker stopped by just to make an introduction. (Among others).


Patrick Cromwell, coach of Mount Tabor NC, shouts encouragement to Kayla Montgomery.And on Saturday morning, Montgomery was due to be interviewed live for a weekend Today Show on NBC. 


The media requests started pouring in after Montgomery's photo and story were on the front page of the New York Times on March 4. (The Times contacted the family after DyeStat published a story about Montgomery last Thanksgiving. And I learned about her after seeing a local Winston-Salem TV piece from 2012). 


"It's been a little overwhelming but still exciting," said Kayla's mother, Alysia. "Without people knowing (her story) and the awareness, we're not going to get a cure."


So in that regard there is more at stake here than whether someone won or lost a foot race. The video image of Montgomery crossing the finish line at The Armory, and her numbed legs giving out (a symptom of her MS), and falling into the helpful arms of coach Patrick Cromwell are compelling. 


Barrett, during the course of her interview, was asked about Montgomery and said she had read the NY Times story and considered her "an inspiration." And she made a point of approaching Kayla to tell her that very same thing when the cameras stopped rolling. 


Track and field is a sport full of human interest stories. It's populated by people who strive to overcome the obstacles of time and distance and personal struggle. Barrett, herself, spent time before her race seated outside the building in a parked car so that she could avoid the flourescent lights that trigger her terrible migraine headaches, a condition she has had for years. 


The big national media outlets haven't been turned on to that story yet. And Mikey Brannigan, the junior who ran in the DMR for Northport NY on Friday -- helping the team to the 10th fastest performance in history --  has a story that hasn't reached critical mass yet, either. He is an autistic athlete with a story that could inspire and give hope to millions of families.


What Montgomery is going through now is worth paying attention to because it shows how the stories can become lightning in a bottle when influential storytellers with big budgets and huge audiences get involved. 


"I don't think we even got it how big it would be," Cromwell said. "When I heard it was going to be on Page 1, I was thinking 'Cool, Page 1 of Sports.' And even when we knew it was Page 1 of the whole (NY Times) I thought 'Great, what a wonderful gift.'"


Cromwell and the Montgomerys got a sneak peak online the night before the story written by Lindsay Crouse went to print. 


The next morning Cromwell was reading emails and answering phone calls non-stop until 12:30 in the afternoon when he paused and took a mental note that he was talking to Diane Sawyer's assistant. 


The floodgates had opened. The Today Show quickly assembled and did a segment on her the following day. There were interviews with Runner's World and NPR. And inquiries poured in from 60 Minutes and HBO and ESPN and The Ellen Show (to name a few) ... and so many that the Montgomerys and Cromwell had to enlist the help of a school district PR publicist.


Now, Kayla and her family choose what to do and when. They have politely declined some offers and agreed to go ahead with others.


Kayla Montgomery at NBNIWhat's important to them is that her story, and its collective awareness, somehow contribute to substantial medical progress for those suffering now or in the future from MS. 


"Every year they are making new medications," Mrs. Montgomery said. "We don't know how well they're working. We want (Kayla) to function at a high level and live her life like you and I. I'd love for someone to say to us (one day) 'If she takes this pill, she'll never have another relapse or never have to have another MRI.'" 


Kayla was blissfully unaware that there were more than a dozen extra reporters and camera operators at the meet Friday specifically to watch her. Cromwell and her parents had decided not to tell Kayla so that she could focus on her mission of running a new PR (she broke it by six seconds, with 17:16.82).


"I didn't know you would all be here," Montgomery said sheepishly, facing reporters after cooling her core temperature down enough so that she could walk again. 


Montgomery has come to recognize that her own story has value to people she's never met before and accepts it.


"It's been really weird," she said. "I never expected much attention out of my story. I  never saw it. But I guess now I do."


For Cromwell, the message is universal and simple.


"It's an honor to compete here with thousands of other amazing athletes from across the country," he said. "The message in Kayla's story is, use every day you've got, whether you are healthy or going to catch a cold next week. Make the most of every workout, every moment. Your PRs are yours. Own them. It's what she's all about."



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