Melissa Peplow, left, is legally blind, and Vicky Wallace, in wheelchair, has lost use of the left side of her body after four strokes. But together the two compete in running races. Here they train at the Oak Ridge Marina. On Sunday, they’ll compete in the 40th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
One running partner is legally blind. The other has had four strokes and lost control of the left side of her body.
But together, they’ve formed a racing duo that’s competed in 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, and half-marathons.
This weekend, the duo, Melissa Peplow and Vicky Wallace, will compete in the their longest race yet, a full marathon. It’s the 40th Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
Peplow is legally blind. She runs behind Wallace’s wheelchair and helps push it.
Wallace’s left side is paralyzed. She helps navigate and uses her right hand to help push her wheelchair, and her right leg to help pull it.
The two competed in back-to-back half-marathons in East Tennessee last November, racing in Farragut on a Saturday and then in Alcoa on a Sunday.
Wallace, who is co-owner of J&M Butcher Shop in Oak Ridge, keeps a sticker-box checklist of the races they’ve completed (5k, 10k, 15k, 13.1 (half-marathon)) on the back of her SUV. One box remains unchecked: 26.2. That’s short for 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon.
