Long Island Teen Finishes Tough Mudder Wearing Sweet 16 Gown

BAY SHORE, NY - Most young girls don't know what to do with their expensive and nice Sweet 16 dresses after the special event, but one Bay Shore teen found the perfect use for hers.

It all started at her Sweet 16 party in June, Cheyenne Syrek decided to recycle a dress given to her by a family friend, 26-year-old Kimmy DeCaro.

"I had it in the closet and [Cheyenne] didn't know about it," her mother, Sarah Syrek. "When she started talking about getting ready for her Sweet 16, I said 'well, Kimmy did give you a dress' so I showed it to her and she immediately fell in love. It was exactly what she was envisioning so it was perfect for her."

The dress had gone through some wear and tear from the first time it was worn at DeCaro's party, but Cheyenne got it tailored and was able to wear it for her party as well.

Following the party, it was clear the dress wasn't going to make it through another party intact, so Cheyenne's parents had another idea to give the dress one last hurrah.

So about a month after her party, Cheyenne re-wore her beloved dress -- but this time, at a Tough Mudder 5K race in Old Bethpage which she had participated it in with her father, Vin Syrek.

The idea to wear the dress idea came from Sarah after she saw "trash the dress" videos on YouTube.

"Cheyenne really loved her dress but it was rather large and difficult to store and it definitely couldn't be donated or worn ever again because she had so much fun in it and danced so hard in it," Sarah said. "My husband and her were already planning on doing the 5K so we figured 'why not make one more memory in the dress and then you can say goodbye to it.'"

This was the first time Cheyenne participated in a Tough Mudder race. Her father had participated in four races before and has been trying to convince Cheyenne to run with him for a several years.

While the race had been planned for a while, the idea to wear the dress came very last minute.

"It was a last minute decision, it was 'let's make one last memory with the dress,'" Sarah said. "The idea for the added obstacle to wear the dress came very last minute."

Cheyenne said the race was more difficult to complete in the dress since it was heavier. However, she made it through and dragged the 10-pound dress through the mud and hills.

"It actually ended up dirtier than I thought it would be," she said. "We just put it in a bag and threw it out after the race, it was very, very muddy."

Afterwards however, she felt "very accomplished."

"I felt like I could conquer the world," Cheyenne said.

See more photos from the race below:

Photos courtesy of Sarah Syrek