This young man with cerebral palsy decided to run the 400-meter event at his school’s track and field day.   If this doesn’t inspire you to be the best that you can be, then nothing will!

The text below is written by  Cameron Smith from Yahoo Sports’  Prep Rally Blog.

The young man who refuses to be beaten by his own limitations in the video above is Matt W. (last name unknown), who attends Worthington (Ohio) Colonial Hills Elementary School. Like most elementary schools in America, Colonial Hills has a once-a-year track and field day, and like most kids, Matt was clearly eager to take part.

However, unlike most of his peers, Matt suffers from spastic cerebral palsy, a debilitating condition that limits his ability to undergo rigorous physical exercise of any kind. Incredibly, despite knowing those limitations, Matt decided to run the 400-meter event (roughly quarter of a mile) on the school’s 200-meter track.

The result was absolutely inspiring. While all the other students in the event finished far in front of Matt, the student athlete simply refused to stop running, chugging his way around the track on his own, even as it appeared he might collapse.

Naturally, the inspirational Colonial Hills student needed plenty of encouragement, and he first got that from the school’s gym teacher, John Blaine, who trotted up alongside his pupil and walked and then ran alongside him for the remainder of the race.

 

Then, after all the other fifth- and sixth-graders in the race had finished, they joined in, running over to follow Matt around the track and chanting, “Let’s go Matt, let’s go!” until he finished, spun around, hugged his gym teacher and then accepted a series of high fives from fellow students, all while his mother watched on, sobbing with emotion from the kindness shown to her son.

It’s an inspiring video that shows the power of positive thinking and what children can do with a little encouragement. No matter what Matt’s athletic future holds, he, his family and his classmates will always have his gritty, inspiring and joyous 400-meter jaunt during an elementary school field day to look back upon and smile.