Go, Marcus, go: Blindness, cerebral palsy can't hold back 7th-grade cross country runner

Marcus Boyer may not be the fastest runner at Collinsville Middle School, but he's a rock star to members of his cross country team.

Several gathered around the legally blind student -- who also has cerebral palsy on his right side -- after a competition at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville last week.

They patted him on the back and congratulated him for finishing the 2.1-mile race, which included a relatively steep hill at the end that gave him trouble.

"I think he did good," said Juan Leanos, 13, of Collinsville. "The first time I did this, I sucked. Marcus did better than me."

Marcus, 13, of Maryville, had qualified to run in the boys varsity race for the first time because of strong showings at recent practices and open races. He covered the SIUE course in 19.01 minutes.

That put him 73rd out of 77 runners, but it still impressed teammate Allie Wimmerstedt, 13, of Collinsville. She noted her time of 18.19 minutes in the girls race wasn't much better.

"He's (legally) blind, and he doesn't have a shadow runner or anything," Allie said. "I don't know how he does it."

Teammate Hannah Good, 12, of Caseyville, did more than just encourage Marcus. She walked alongside him during the last stretch of his race.

"He got kind of frustrated at the end when he looked back and he didn't see anybody behind him," Hannah said. "So I walked with him and cheered him on. I was saying, 'You can do it! You're doing fine! Sprint it out! You're awesome!'"

Marcus is the son of Beth and Mike Sturman, of Maryville, and Kurt Boyer, of Maryville. He has a triplet brother and sister, Thomas and Martney Boyer, who are not disabled.

The siblings don't look alike, but Marcus and Thomas both have lean builds and flaming red hair and both run track for Collinsville. Marcus wears glasses.

"My brother is awesome," Thomas said. "He's just very independent, and he doesn't give up, even when he wants to. He always makes the effort."

The family had to get permission from Collinsville Middle School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Darrin Houck for Marcus to join the cross country team.

Houck calls host schools before competitions to make sure courses are well marked and provides Marcus with maps.

Marcus walked SIUE's course the night before last week's meet with his stepfather, Mike, 41, a mortgage loan officer at a Belleville bank.

"It's all part of the middle school philosophy," Houck said. "We try to get (students) active. We try to allow them to do as much as they can do."

Beth underwent fertility treatments before getting pregnant with quintuplets in 1996. She lost two babies and gave birth to the other three at 27 weeks.

Marcus was born with mild cerebral palsy -- which limits balance, flexibility and muscle control on his right side -- and vision problems.

"He is legally blind, but he has a lot of functional vision," said Trish Callier, an occupational therapist who works with Marcus to improve mobility.

"He only uses a cane at night when it's dark or in unfamiliar indoor and outdoor venues."

Marcus' disabilities don't keep him from loving sports. He has played recreational baseball and is trying out for the school basketball team this year.

"I'm very athletic, and I'm a good runner," the seventh-grader said. "I have a lot of energy. I have a really high metabolism. ... I like running. It keeps you in shape. If you don't run, you can't play hide and seek or tag."

Marcus served as pitcher for his baseball team four years ago and proved more than capable. He wore a hockey helmet with a clear-plastic face shield to avoid head injuries.

"We've never told him 'No,'" said his father, Kurt, 41, a plant manager in Madison. "We're very encouraging. We're like, 'Go for it,' and then we try to figure out what we need to do to help him be successful."

The only exception is, Marcus isn't allowed to participate in contact sports such as football or soccer.

"If he got a hard blow to the head, it's possible that his retina could be detached," said his mother, Beth, 39, a special-education teacher in Granite City. "And because his vision is so bad, he wouldn't even know it."

Marcus doesn't let such limitations get him down. He focuses on what he can do, not what he can't do.

"Marcus never stops," said teammate Danielle Maggil, 12, of Collinsville. "He just keeps running."