Florida teen with CP runs track with the aim of a 6-minute mile

From Tampa Bay Online:

SEFFNER, Fla. - As a kid, Chris Broyles (pictured) says he spent countless hours hanging out at a park near his home in Thonotosassa. But when it came to some of the games other children were playing, Broyles said he could only sit and watch with envy.

To see him now as a member of the Armwood High School track team, you'd never guess Broyles was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle tone, body movement and coordination. And like most people with CP, Broyles' childhood was a trying period of his life. As other kids rapidly developed the physical skills to ride bikes, hit a baseball or climb a tree, he was undergoing surgeries and physical therapy just to allow him to walk without falling over.

For Broyles, football, Frisbee or just a game a tag at the park was out of the question.

"I would just sit there and watch them and wish I was there playing with them," said Broyles, now a senior. "But there was nothing I could do, so I sat on the bench and watched them."

The disorder affects muscular control and coordination on the right side of Broyles' body. He has undergone extensive physical therapy and three surgeries to help him with the CP at Shriners Hospitals for Children, but the disorder left Broyles with specific learning disabilities.

If that wasn't enough of a challenge, at age 4 Broyles was placed in a foster home along with several of his brothers and sisters. Broyles says his younger sister was later adopted and his other siblings have moved out of foster care after reaching the age of 18. He says he doesn't stay in touch with any of them.

Since he is now 19 and about to graduate from Armwood, Broyles says it's time for him to transition to a program called "independent living." He can continue to receive government aid until the age of 22 if he attends college or a technical school. He's hoping to attend Brewster Technical Center in Tampa, which offers course work in careers for adults with disabilities.

But before he leaves high school this spring, Broyles is intent on breaking six minutes for the mile run. It's a goal he set for himself after joining Armwood's cross-country and track teams last year as a junior, when it took him more than 30 minutes to cover 3.1 miles and nearly 10 minutes to run a mile.

Now, Broyles is closing in on a mile time that most fit, able-bodied individuals would consider a significant achievement.

"After watching him try to get around the track for the first time two years ago, I had no idea Chris would be where he's at now," said Armwood cross-country and track coach Chris Biernacki. "It's unbelievable to see him making that attempt to break six minutes in the mile.

After coming within eight seconds of that goal two weeks ago and 17 seconds last week, Broyles now has one final opportunity to crack the six-minute barrier: the University of Tampa Distance Carnival, April 10 at Pepin Stadium.

Having seen the operations Broyles has endured - most recently surgery on his Achilles tendon that put him in a cast during his sophomore year - Broyles' foster mother, Gloria Brock, says it's hard to imagine him running like he is today.

"I've always told him 'Chris, you need to know your limitations, you need to know when to back off or you might hurt yourself,'" Brock said. "But he hasn't let anything stop him with his running. I'm really surprised he has stayed with it so much."

Broyles said it took a lot of prodding by Biernacki to get him out on the track. Broyles considered distance running an activity "for nerds" and thought "who in their right mind would run three or more miles?"

But Biernacki has always had a keen interest in challenged individuals. He has an older brother with autism and, for nearly nine years, has taught Armwood's Specially Designed Physical Education Class for students with a specific disability or developmental delay.

It was here, in a second-period class, that Biernacki first met Broyles. Having been around kids with special needs and challenges for so many years, Biernacki said he could sense Broyles wanted to be part of a team to bring some "normalcy" to his life.

"Growing up, Chris said he always felt different than everyone else and I think for such a long time, he wanted to be part of something special and just be included with everyone else," Biernacki said. "I think it started out that he was an inspiration to us and now, he's just one of the guys and I think that's the best part about it. They treat him as one of their own brothers out here. It's incredible."

Six-minute mile or not, Broyles says the experience of being part of a team has been worth the effort.

"It got me back in shape, got me some new friends that I would've never had and opened a new world for me," Broyles said. "Anyone who has disabilities can do anything they want to and for me, Biernacki is the person who taught me to not let your limitations put you down."