These Wisconsin High School Cross-Country Runners Just Want to Race Like Everyone Else

Susan Bergeman pushes her brother Jeffrey in a chair during every race, but their results don’t count.

Siblings Susan and Jeffrey Bergeman, both freshman at Chippewa Falls Senior High School in Wisconsin, run every cross-country race together.

With Susan pushing Jeffrey in a modified racing chair, they start behind everyone else, and they are technically not allowed to pass anyone who isn’t walking. And when they cross the finish line, their time isn’t included in the results.

It’s a unique situation, but one thing keeps them going—they both love to run.

“I like running. Jeffrey likes running. Running is more fun to do together than on your own,” Susan, 15, told Runner’s World. “This was a way that both Jeffrey and I could be involved in a school sport and it was something we could do together.”

When Jeffrey, now 15, was 22 months old, he suffered sudden cardiac arrest. His brain was deprived of oxygen for 20 minutes, leaving Jeffrey with severe brain damage. He would be diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Unable to compete on his own in athletic endeavors, Jeffrey joined his parents, Jess and Jordan, in a modified racing chair at races they did, ranging anywhere from 5Ks to marathons and triathlons. Susan also loved to run, and, inspired by her parents, she decided wanted to run with Jeffery, too.

Susan and Jeffrey, who are 10 months apart in age, ran their first 5K together at 9 years old in June 2016. A couple of years later, they joined their middle school cross-country team. Since then, with a few exceptions, Susan and Jeffrey have run every practice and every course together, and have participated in preseason runs, summer training, and team-bonding activities together.

To their coach, teammates, other teams, and spectators, they are just part of the team. Yet despite finishing every race, they have not once been declared finishers.

When Susan and Jeffrey started running in middle school, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) didn’t have an established division for runners with disabilities who wanted to race. So the WIAA created a classification called a ‘duo team,’ the first and only in the state, for Susan and Jeffrey, and established guidelines that they had to follow, citing safety concerns because of the chair. These guidelines state that they can only pass participants who are walking or injured, and even if they do pass them, they must wait just before the finish line until all other runners finish before they can cross. They also cannot be included in the final results.

“The rule isn’t fair because I should be able to run my race safely and at the pace that I can run without having to slow down just because someone in front of me is a slower runner,” Susan said. “That isn’t what racing is about. I would never try to pass someone if there wasn’t enough space to safely do so.”

The Bergemans understand having guidelines put in place, but, as Susan puts it, “the rules should make sense and be fair.”

“We’re just out there running like everyone else,” Susan said. “Yes, my brother needs a wheelchair to make that happen, but other than the wheels and an accessible bus to get to meets, there really aren’t any other special accommodations that we need.”

The Bergemans’ parents hoped these guidelines would be adjusted after their children proved in middle school that they could compete safely together alongside other runners. But the rules haven’t changed, which means their efforts to advocate for them—and any other duo teams that come in the future—hasn’t stopped. They want to create a pathway for other runners like them who want to compete but are facing bureaucratic hurdles in the state of Wisconsin.

“Our son, who lives his life everyday with disabilities, does not want to be viewed as an ‘exhibit’,” Jess told Runner’s World. “He wants to be viewed as a Wisconsin student athlete, like any other student without disabilities in the state.”

Susan and Jeffrey, who ran a two-minute 5K PR of at the last race of the season, do admit to going around the rules a bit, too. They pass other runners and crossed the line ahead of others. This wasn’t to break the rules for breaking the rules sake; it was to prove a point that they could safely race, and they should be included as official finishers.

“[Susan and Jeffrey] have spent the last few years trying to break down barriers of ‘fear,’ ‘misunderstanding,’ and myths that this ‘might not be safe,’” Jess said. “There was a time when female athletes were not allowed to compete in cross country meets. It was wrong. It took time for society and the sport to grow, but growth and change were necessary and happened ... and it’s time for the WIAA and athletic associations nationwide to work on changing this.”

The Bergemans have the support of their school, their district, and even other teams in the area. In fact, the family is currently working with the local community and boosters to fund equipment needed for students with disabilities to compete, such as racing chairs, for the school to own that any student in the future can use. The Bergemans own the chair the family uses.

“The work of inclusion is not finished until the day when a student with disabilities joining a school team or club is as simple as a decision to make as, ‘Where do I sign up?’” Jess said.

So, Susan and Jeffrey continue to run together, helping each other to the finish line. Susan does that by pushing Jeffrey in the chair, and Jeffrey, despite being nonverbal, does that by vocalizing messages of encouragement via his way of communicating with Susan when she is struggling.

“It’s kinda cool to think that we might be leaving a legacy from what we are doing,” Susan said. “We hope that anyone that might come after us is able to compete without having as many obstacles or barriers to overcome. That they experience a welcoming team like we have, and that they get to have the experience and joy of racing together as equals. It would be fantastic to have more students try out duo team running before we graduate, so that we can race them.”

posted Sunday November 28th
by Runners World