Kayleigh takes time to write up special letters to her grandmother, and she gets those letters from heaven in return to help her cope with the loss. “It’s ever present and so I needed Kayleigh to have hope and those letters from heaven have become her hope.”

We learn to live with that hole that’s left in our life. “How a down syndrome individual works with death is so different than ours. Kayleigh’s grandmother passed a few weeks later, and it was difficult for Kayleigh to understand. Shortly after that story ran, her grandmother became ill, but was able to watch the video of the story. We first profiled Kayleigh’s incredible accomplishments as a runner back in 2021.

“My grandma will slap my shoulders and I have to keep going,” says Kayleigh. She says that she senses her grandmother while she’s running. It is no doubt that during that long and trying race, Kayleigh was able to take inspiration from her late grandmother. She was wearing bib number 321, which is the chromosome that causes Down syndrome.Ī special partnership between Adidas and the Boston Marathon debuted last year, reserving that number for one neurodivergent athlete. Kayleigh fought through tough conditions and pain throughout the race and finished almost 20 miles. But the amount of pride, I don’t think I could put that in words.” I know I will be happy that 26.2 miles are done. It’s such an iconic race,” says Sandy when we talked to her before the race. With one full marathon behind her, Kayleigh got an incredible opportunity to run the world’s most famous race, the Boston Marathon. “Then she told me that I am so proud of you.” “The moment I see my mom, she just started crying,” Kayleigh says. “But when she got to the top of the hill, you see her hand come up and that’s the point she was like leave me alone, I see it and she took off running. “I’m yelling back at here, Kayleigh, you’ve got to come on, the finish line’s right there and she didn’t want any part of it,” says Sandy Williamson, Kayleigh’s mother, about finishing the Austin Marathon. Kayleigh has completed 20 half marathons and finished the full Austin marathon last year. Running has been her outlet to health and happiness.

Kayleigh completed the Austin Marathon in 2022 and was asked to participate in the Boston Marathon in 2023.

Kayleigh Williamson was born with down syndrome.

Download grandma's half marathon 2023