As The Wheel Spins

05/12/2026

As a disabled woman in the 21st century, I’m always keenly aware that I sit on the shoulders of many pioneers who came before me. While I’m not yet able to race on my own (a lack of appropriate equipment and conditioning), I’ll definitely be thinking of Bob Hall the next time I race.

05/08/2026

Happy Friday everyone!

How are we already a week into May? Sorry it’s been so quiet around here, when I haven’t been out in a race course I’ve been spending too much time stuck inside my head, which isn’t always a great place to be. The weekends, however, have been very useful at pulling me out of the mental quagmire. April saw me out on three consecutive weekends, participating in four races and some really cool side quests. I had only a single weekend break, then May began with a disability milestone and an epic birthday adventure, with another race on the calendar tomorrow morning. I had a productive appointment with my therapist yesterday, and hope to get caught up over the next few days.

In the meantime, enjoy this random photo of a pretty April sunrise, taken from my bedroom window. It’s definitely a prettier view than I’m currently experiencing, as it’s a stormy day today in South Louisiana.

04/30/2026

Gotta love that feeling when one of your favorite disabled athletes/content creators replies to your comment on his post! 🤩 The prompt was to explain your disability very poorly, the more cryptic and confusing the better. 😂 Tomorrow is a milestone day (more on that later), so I appreciate the opportunity to laugh at my situation. Dark humor for the win!

04/04/2026

Good morning, and happy race day! Good luck to all the 21,000 participants in this year’s Crescent City Classic. After all the build-up, I’m eager to experience the excitement for the first time. Thanks so much to everyone who donated to make my participation possible.

03/30/2026

Just checked the progress on this donation campaign, and oh my goodness…I was amazed to see that the total now exceeds two and a half times my initial goal! There are still six days until the Crescent City Classic, so please keep the donations coming! From purchasing new chariots, to maintenance, to logistical support, every little bit helps bring people like me off the sidelines and into the action.

As the Wheel Spins - Elizabeth’s Fundraiser for Ainsley’s Angels

03/25/2026

I’ve only got one race for the month of March, but it was an exciting one, as it was my first trail run! The road races are fun, but my outdoorsy self loves the chance to get into the woods. This one saw me in Hammond, where I was invited to join Jackson for the Rotary Club’s Shamrock Run on the grounds of the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. I was teamed up with Ryan and Tyler for this run, who both did a great job; I had the honor of being a first race teammate for Tyler, and the first race back for Ryan coming off an injury. It was a unique experience running through the festival area, and the remote backstage areas reminded me of the roads we take at any of the scout camps. I was very thankful the opportunity to be out in nature on such a beautiful spring day.

03/25/2026

The end of February saw back in New Orleans for the Run Cajun Run City Park 5k held in beautiful City Park. My son and sister were present for this race which was nice; after the start they took a tour through the Sculpture Garden. This laid back race was actually a series of six 5k run on the hour, with a belt buckle and bragging rights to whoever finished on top, but we only participated in one. We had beautiful blue skies for the race, and my pusher Jacob did a great job as a first time Angel runner. The post race celebration was definitely a treat, with a whole pig roasted that morning and char-grilled oysters. The icing on the cake was Run Cajun Run making a donation to Ainsley’s Angels.

03/25/2026

February’s first race wasn’t until the middle of the month, and saw me going down to the New Orleans chapter for the most iconic reason: a parade! And not just any parade: I was given the opportunity to roll with the Krewe of Thoth Mardi Gras parade on the Sunday before Mardi Gras, and had an amazing time. It surprised me how quickly the time passed as I was throwing beans, plushies, bouncy balls, and frisbees to the crowd. I was throwing with my non-dominant hand, so it was definitely a work out! We even got to hear LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey speak during a parade stoppage in front of the historic Gallier Hall, which serves an important role in the Mardi Gras festivities. I eagerly look forward to doing this parade again in the future.

03/24/2026

Two weeks after the Louisiana Marathon weekend was a day so full of adaptive events I think it’s truly taken me a month and a half to wrap my brain around! Or maybe my brain just took that long to thaw, as the temps that morning were in the mid 20s with wind chills in the upper teens.

The first activity of the day was the Mardi Gras Mambo race, for which I had a seat in the 15k distance (some runners only did 10k). This was my first race of longer than 5k, so despite the cold I was looking forward to the longer ride through the city. My kids were present for the start, a first for them, then they wisely left for warmth in the form of coffee and beignets at Coffee Call, a Baton Rouge institution. While they got full bellies, Brandon and Scott gave me a great run. The start and finish were similar to the TLM, but also went through some beautiful residential areas as well as the Capitol lakes. We actually came in first for the assisted 15k, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover they had first place medals for our division as well. The only other time I had received recognition for placing was the Tammany Turkey Trot, which gave mugs to the top adaptive finishers.

After the race, my kids and I went to the mall to do a little shopping, and my son and I got lunch while his sister went to work. We were then joined by my nephew for the second activity of the day.

Another group I became involved with last fall is Luke5Adventures, a ministry organization that specializes in adaptive hiking adventures using their “Rosie” chairs, a rickshaw-style single wheel chair controlled by one person in the front as well as one in the back (with guides at either side prepared to assist in case of emergency or with more complex changes in elevation). On this day they invited two of us to come out for hikes around Highland Park in Baton Rouge. I didn’t get much in the way of pictures as I was trying to live in the moment, but my son did take some for me as the volunteers helped me “climb a tree.”

03/24/2026

Today is a complicated day for me emotionally; it’s my 21st wheeliversary. It’s a day I allow myself to mourn the life and abilities I lost, in addition to giving thanks for the blessings that have come specifically because of my paralysis. I’ll be rolling out several updates today, to ensure I focus more on the good.

In the meantime, I ask you to join me in commemorating this day by donating to my campaign for Ainsley’s Angels. I am so thankful for this found family and all of the experiences it has opened up for me. It’s one of the best disability-related things to happen to me in a long time. https://donate.ainsleysangels.org/AsTheWheelSpins