Special Olympics Athlete to Compete in the Boston Marathon

A Washington man will be one for 22,500 runners in Monday's running of the Boston Marathon.

It's an accomplishment to be sure but Andrew Bryant had more to overcome than just qualifying to run the 26-mile race. The Seattle-area man is autistic.

Bryant has competed in events with Special Olympics Washington since he was 8 years old and gradually branched off into competitive races. It all paid off last fall, when Bryant finished the Portland Marathon in just over three hours. It was a good enough time to put him in the first wave of runners in Boston.

Bryant said it's nothing unusual to him.

"I surprise people," said Bryant to the Seattle PI.

He ran a half-marathon with his stepfather in Las Vegas at age 17, and he was lost in the crowd. His stepfather searched for Bryant and found him at the finish line. When he looked at the results, he said he was surprised to find his stepson had finished fourth in his age group.

Bryant's mother, Colleen Engel, said he has been practicing with a local running group in order to prepare for the marathon. His coach in the group, Chuck Bartlett, said he thinks Bryant can finish in less than three hours.

That would be in line with Bryant's goals as well. He said he is aiming to beat famed-cyclist Lance Armstrong's time in the 2006 New York Marathon: 2:59.36.

Representatives of Special Olympics said they were proud to have Bryant representing disabled athletes in the race

"We are proud of Andy's accomplishments and wish him the very best in Monday's marathon," said John Borgognoni, Sports and Program Director for Special Olympics Washington. "Andy shows grace and good sportsmanship win, lose or draw and always comes out smiling."

But Bryant doesn't do much losing. In the Special Olympics, Bryant has never lost in any of the 5,000 or 10,000 meter races he has run. He runs so well that he was asked by the group to be an alternate to the Special Olympics World Games, to be held in Shanghai, China this summer.

Bryant said he would welcome the opportunity.

"It would be a dream come true to go to China," he said. "I have a network of friends I would never have known without Special Olympics."