Kayla Montgomery, 18, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago. Today, she's one of the fastest young distance runners in the country.
But Montgomery's combination of athletic talent and nervous system disease isn't just unusual. It also leads to a very powerful moment after each race she runs in.
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Montgomery's story is told in the YouTube video embedded above, but here's a rundown: Because the disease blocks nerve signals from reaching Montgomery's legs, she doesn't sense the pain in her legs other racers might experience while running long distances. Her legs go numb, and while she can continue running forward, the second she stops, she loses control and collapses.
“When I finish, it feels like there’s nothing underneath me,” Montgomery told The New York Times. “I start out feeling normal and then my legs gradually go numb. I’ve trained myself to think about other things while I race, to get through. But when I break the motion, I can’t control them and I fall.”
At the end of every race, her coach, Patrick Cromwell, waits to catch Montgomery as she finishes. He pulls her aside and her parents immediately start icing her legs. Eventually, she regains sensation in them.
Though the disease might provide some competitive edge, Cromwell told The New York Times that he believes no one "in their right mind" would be willing to trade a life with M.S. for numbness in their legs while running. Instead, Cromwell credits her strength in the face of the numbness — and an incurable disease.
“I make myself do it,” Montgomery said. “I tell myself, ‘I know you’re tired and you can’t feel anything and it’s hard but you’re going to finish this.’ And then I do.”
Montgomery won the North Carolina state title this year in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:43, ranking her 21st in the country. Her next major competition will be the national indoor track championships in New York on Mar. 14.
As for the future, Montgomery plans to run in the fall on a scholarship at Lipscomb University in Tennessee.
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