Mother’s love is the kindest, selfless, most compassionate, and boundless. Autism Superman Jonathan, an astonishing Marathoner with severe ASD did a true tribute to his mom’s generous and affectionate love by giving her a kiss before crossing the Finish Line of the 2016 Boston Marathon. However, the story of this runner could not have seen so many marathon finish lines without his mother Olga’s never give up attitude and her selfless endeavor. She encouraged Johnathon by running side by side at times gripping his belt and effectively pulling him along the trails to encourage him to connect with the sport. With great support of his mother, family, and coaches, Jonathan has proudly finished 18 marathons so far. Even though Jonathan has no understanding of pace, time, or actual length of Marathon but he relishes and treasures his medals. Let us applaud Jonathan’s determination and his mother’s and family’s strong support that contributed in his extraordinary marathon journey. Jonathan’s brother Verlaine has answered on his behalf.

How many marathons have you participated in so far? Which one was the most challenging one?J: Jonathan has run and finished 18 marathons so far. His most challenging marathon was the Boston Marathon 2012. The weather was 90 degrees and high humidity and many runners dropped out of the race. Jonathan ran strong and was able to finish in under 5 hours under harsh conditions!

How do you usually train yourself for the races? What kind of challenges do you face?J: Because of Jonathan's autism, training him requires a team effort. We have coaches who volunteer their time to help Jonathan train and we (the family) also train him on our own on the local trail or via treadmill. On the trail we use a bicycle to keep up with Jonathan and provide water and help him avoid obstacles and road crossings.

Can you describe your racing journey from Rolling Thunder Special Needs Running club until today?J: When Jonathan first joined the running club, he struggled tremendously. For the first couple of weeks, Jon could not run more then 10-15 yard without stopping, or getting distracted or wanting to lie down. In fact, Olga began running side by side with Jonathan, at times gripping his belt and effectively pulling him along the trails. Even after several months of practices, Jonathan was still not really grasping the concept of running. Olga was nearly ready to have him quit, both as a result of her fatigue from constantly pulling him and Jonathan’s inability to connect with the sport.
The creator of Rolling Thunder, Steve Cuomo, encouraged Olga to not give up on the club and and worked with her to help Jonathan continue running. That led to the fateful day when Mr. Cuomo introduced Olga to a running coach named Vincent Delcid. Over the upcoming months, Vincent was able to connect with Jonathan and through modeling, was able to teach Jonathan to pace himself, and stretch, as well as how to approach hills and to sprint at the finish line. Over time, Jonathan developed a great “coach – athlete” relationship with Vincent during their runs and really began to embrace the sport. After several months of running, coach Vincent REALLY upped the ante. He could see that Jonathan was really enjoying their runs and was getting faster and faster by the day. Coach Vincent told us that he wanted Jonathan to run the NYC Marathon. 6 months later Vincent and Jonathan ran the NYC Marathon together on November 2nd, 2008 in 4 hours 49 minutes and 8 seconds.

You were participating in the Boston Marathon 2013 when the bombing occurred. What was your first reaction when you heard the news?J: Jonathan and his coaches were approx. 3/4 of a mile away from the Finish Line when the bombings occured. Race organizers stepped in before the last quarter mile to divert them and thousands of other runners to the side streets. Coach Vincent (who always runs with a phone) was able to communicate to us (the family at the Finish Line) that they were ok and diverted to side streets. Through all the chaos, it took 3 hours before the family was able to reunite with Jonathan and coaches. It was a scary, scary time. The silver lining is that Jonathan is blissfully ignorant of what happened and had no problems returning to run it the next year. He isn't capable of comprehending the attacks, and crossed the Finish Line every year since!

Who helped you along the way in your racing journey?J: This journey is a combination of a strong family support system, dedicated coaches (volunteers), discipline and an organized plan. Jonathan didn't show up to a track and run like crazy; it took months to allow him to find his potential, and once that switch flipped, he fell in love with running.

Where do you see yourself in next 10 years?J: Jonathan is a life long dependent, meaning he will need support services and 24/7 supervision for the rest of his life. He can't manage money or live independently or have a relationship. However, he lives a full life attending his vocational day program, he has family support at home and is training year round as running has become his passion. Jonathan 10 years from now will hopefully be running more marathons alongside hundreds of others with autism who have found running as their passion as well.

What are your other hobbies?J: Jonathan loves G.I. Joe action figures, he loves watching Disney movies, Pixar movies, musicals and childhood nursery rhymes. His absolute favorite thing in the world is Mary Poppins. He can watch it and listen to the dance routines ten times a day.

What do you like to do when you are with your family?J: Jonathan enjoys time with his brothers, they are all very close in age and have an extremely positive and loving relationship. Jonathan's mother is very passionate about advocating for him and she fully supports him as he stays with her at home.

Any special message for our community?J: Never place artificial limits or ceilings on someone because of their disablity. If we had quit Rolling Thunder, Jonathan would never have had the opportunity to find his passion and 18 marathons would be gone in a flash. Regardless of cognitive ability or function, EVERYONE in this community deserves the chance to maximize their potential.