Kayla Montgomery is one of the best distance runners in the country despite being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when she was 14.  ESPN featured Kayla on an episode of E:60.

At the time of her diagnosis she was playing soccer, the sport she loved, but doctors told her she would have to give it up.  Kayla was angry, she cried a lot and she wanted to be alone.  Her mother who cared for MS patients and had witnessed the disease first hand was devastated.  The family could have collapsed under the weight of their despair, and no one would have blamed them, but instead they rallied behind Kayla as she chose to focus her energy on running.   She wanted to make the best out of all the days she had remaining. When Kayla first started running she was average at best, but she ended up working her way onto her high school varsity team.  Next, she became the fastest member, then she started training full time with the boys’ team and ultimately became one of the fasted runners in North Carolina.  However, because of the MS she wasn’t able to do it alone.  Her coach would literally catch her in his arms at the end of every race, and work to cool her down, in order to restore feeling to her legs.  As a result of the MS, Kayla’s legs go numb while running because her temperature rises (causing her symptoms to flare) and she is unable to stop on her own.

So why does she do it? “It makes me happy, makes me feel normal and whole.  When I’m running I feel like I’m battling and I’m safe from myself.  As long as I’m running everything is fine.”

Kayla’s last race as a HS student was for the State Championship.  Unfortunately she fell in the first 100 meters, but amazingly she got back up and won the race.  The race was indicative of Kayla’s battle with MS.   It doesn’t matter how many times she gets knocked down, she picks herself up and keeps fighting.

“When or if I’m not able to run at some point down the road then at least I can look back and know that when I could, I gave it my all.”

According to Kayla’s Instagram she is a member of the Lipscomb University track and field team in Nashville Tennessee.