Kayleigh Williamson laced up her shoes and hit the ground running.<\/p>\n
Tracking a path of 26.2 miles alongside 50,000 runners, a 33-year-old Texas athlete, Kayleigh Williamson, made history as being one of the first women with Down syndrome to complete the New York City marathon.<\/p>\n
Not a small feat, the woman crossed the finish line at a little over 10 hours, and her mom, who raced at her side, said the journey was filled with dancing, music, tears and many high-fives.<\/p>\n
Austin\u2019s Kayleigh Williamson, 33, is letting the world know that having Down syndrome isn\u2019t going to slow her down.<\/p>\n
When Kayleigh first started running in 2017, she made history as the first person with Down syndrome to complete the Austin Marathon. Since then, she has raced many half and full marathons.<\/p>\n
Her relationship with running started when her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s, and her own mother, Sandy Williamson, 56, made some healthy lifestyle changes for her and her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was at about the same time my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d said Sandy, also a marathon runner. \u201cSo, I implemented some healthy lifestyle choices. We just started running and I was already running, and Kayleigh wanted to do some races with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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