I WANT RUNNING

When Irene Valarezo Córdova was born, her parents were told that she would never be able to walk or run. But Irene wasn't going to let that stop her. and Frame Running gave her the opportunity to run. this is her story.

When I was born, the doctors told my parents a very long confusing diagnosis and, as was customary at that time, the doctors assigned themselves the faculty to define what I could or couldn’t do during my entire life, too. So, for the doctors there wasn’t a "normal" way that I talk, eat, go to school, not even run -that craziness wouldn’t be an option for Irene-, and that all summarized my life with Cerebral Palsy (dyskinetic type) and that is why I was condemned to live only for 6 months.

Nowadays, I am 31 years old, I am an Internationalist and a Political Scientist, also I am a Disability Rights Activist and I work for the UN just as an Individual Consultant for the UNFPA's Office in Quito, Ecuador. And the most important thing I can tell you about myself is I RUN. How it could be possible for a woman with Dyskinetic CP for whom the doctors condemned her to a “bad life”?

The thing you must know is the diagnosis always forgets the contexts where persons could develop themselves. Please, don’t misunderstand me, I think the diagnosis is useful; however, it doesn’t define who a person is. As any person with CP in Ecuador, I had rehab since I was 6 months old to 15 years old and it was a duty more than a leisure time, so I lived in rehab 15 years! Where were free time? I can’t remember that.  

As long as I grew up, I learned to be careful with my thoughts and don’t believe everything that the medical team (doctors and physios) said to me.  The medical team insisted so many times that I had to practice some sports “to maintain adequate physical condition and well-being”. The problem was that I never had recreation times or physical education at school, and they didn’t help me to find a sport which I can feel passionate about.

Over time I learned that I was the only one who could know my limits. To get all that knowledge, I had a process of empowering myself for 20 years approximately. So, when I was 23 years old, I decided I would do a new thing: I started running around the park (slowly as I could), near to the rehabilitation center in company of my physiotherapist.

After 6 years, I got bored, so I sought a professional coach, and I found my coach, Luis Moran, who told me about Racerunning or Framerunning. But, to practice that adaptative sport I had to get the running frame, which was totally unknown here in Ecuador, so I trained for 2 years in a “normal” way, just as an athlete without a physical disability.

In this time, my coach and I noticed that I couldn’t decrease my times, I run 100 meters in 40 seconds (and I can’t decrease it, I keep running in that time). This allowed us to realize that a support product could be adequate to improve my performance on the track.

It has been two super busy years. I had to do a lot of self-management to get the running frame (always supported by my coach), because there wasn't one in Ecuador. At the beginning, the authorities of the Federation to which I belong even expressed denigrating comments, alluding that it wasn’t worth investing efforts or resources in me, because I wouldn’t have a positive projection to win a medal.

Moreover, I had to do anything to achieve my goal. In addition, I knew that I had a great responsibility because what I was doing meant to open the path for many more children with CP from an early age to choose running, or at least, have an alternative as a reference, far beyond physiotherapy.

In this way, I infiltrated a meeting with the Minister of Sports where I was able to talk with him and tell him my story. He got emotionally moved and his team was able to support me to create my sports preparation project: YO QUIERO CORRER (I want running) and endorse it to this government entity, so that any sponsor can deduct their taxes when they want to support my project.

In March 2023, the running frame arrived in Ecuador from the United States. For this, I had the support of a private company that provided me with financial aid to be able to buy this sports device. Currently, I am also sponsored by one of the largest banks in Ecuador, which is called Banco Pichincha, through the Crisfe Foundation.

I became the first woman with cerebral palsy to practice Framerunning in Ecuador. Currently, I am in my adaptation process, which has been very difficult and more complex than I thought, but with clear goals: continue training and achieve my functional classification to be able to compete internationally on behalf of Ecuador.

I just want you to know that finally, I feel just as an athlete and no more as a patient. That is how sports changes lives. That’s feels like other level!