TAMPA, Fla. — Amy Spindler loves everything about running — going fast, feeling the wind in her hair and hearing the crowd cheering. But how Amy makes it to the finish line is different from most runners.

What You Need To Know

  • Close to 2,000 runners participated in the St. Petersburg Distance Classic on Sunday morning
  • Participation was up by 30% after the race took a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, organizers said

  • Claudia McCoy and Amy Spindler, a wheelchair duo, qualified for the Boston Marathon — a goal they've had for 10 years

Amy is bound to her wheelchair and can’t move on her own. She has cerebral palsy, which affects her ability to move her muscles in a controlled manner. But thanks to Claudia McCoy, Amy is able to do what she loves.

“It’s a real joy for her to feel kind of the acceleration and just the speed of the chair and get that kind of input into her body of what it is like to move and to move fast,” Amy’s mother, Lisa said.

Claudia runs with Amy, pushing her in her race chair. The two first met back in 2012 and set their sights on running the Boston Marathon one day. They ran the Gasparilla half marathon together in 2019 as a way to work toward that goal.

After that, they gradually began running longer distance to train for their first full marathon together at the St. Petersburg Distance Classic on Sunday morning.

“It wasn’t my training,” Claudia said. “It was Amy’s training. I’m just her legs. And that’s where I’m really looking forward to this and that’s where I think I’m more nervous than any other race because it’s not my race, it’s Amy’s race.”

The duo completed Sunday’s marathon in just over three and a half hours - beating not only the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, but their own personal goal. Claudia said it was Amy's inspiration that carried them through to the finish line.

“I just talked to my legs, to be honest," she said. "I’m like, I see the light, please just carry me that 0.2 more. And then the last little bit I just, you always get that second wind when you just see the line of the crowd and you hear my family and everybody here. It’s just overwhelming.”

There are a limited number of spots for wheelchair duos in the Boston Marathon, which added an extra challenge to Sunday’s race. Amy’s parents said it’s an unbelievable accomplishment, but they had no doubt the two of them could do it.

“It's such an amazing moment," Amy's mother, Lisa, said. "I was just filled with pride and joy because I know how much they both wanted to do this together and it’s so exciting that they’re going to get to run Boston in 2024.”

Amy first got into running when she was a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital, Lisa said. She became part of the Miles for Miracles Program where she was partnered with people running to support the hospital in the Boston Marathon. Aside from loving the art of racing itself, Lisa said Amy is also passionate about the fundraising that comes with taking part in races.

The Spindlers said above all else, what Amy and Claudia accomplished shows that you can do whatever you set your heart to - no matter what your abilities are.

“We’ve always supported Amy,” she said. “We try to give her as many natural experiences as possible and we just have always believed in going the extra mile and kind of making the world come to Amy because Amy can’t get to the world.”

Claudia and Amy will hit the ground running next January to train for the 2024 Boston Marathon, which is happening on April 15th next year. In between now and then, they'll also run smaller races to keep the momentum going.