Springfield Woman to Run in Special Olympics

A young woman from Springfield is less than two months away from a symbolic, athletic undertaking.  Karen Dickerson will run the half marathon on behalf of the U.S. in this year’s Special Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Karen is 25 years-old and got her start in long distance running during the middle school years.  Karen attended Mark Twain Middle School and had a good relationship with the P.E. teacher while there.  Karen has an intellectual disability and as a result, has a tough time with loud noises, especially bells and whistles.  Her P.E. teacher at Mark Twain recognized this and when other kids were playing basketball in the gym, Karen was allowed to go run on the track.

“She just took off from there,” said mother Ernestine.  “Her teacher was great at identifying positive things she could do.”

Karen entered a few shorter races in the area when she was younger, both through the Special Olympics and locally.  The first one she was in was the Parkway Classic 5K.

“It was just the biggest deal that they did the 3.2 miles,” Ernestine laughed.

While the Dickerson family is from Springfield, Karen went to Edison High School because of their Special Education program.  While there, she ran both indoor and outdoor track and cross country.

“She was just very focused on doing better,” Ernestine said.  “Distance is her thing, distance runners are a unique group.  They can just disconnect their minds or something.  She just goes.”

Karen’s running continued to improve with age.  She’s participated in nine marathons to date including two Marine Corps marathons in D.C., one in Richmond, one in Baltimore and two in Boston.  She ran her first Marine Corps marathon in under four hours but didn’t hit the 3:40 qualifying time for Boston.  Not surprisingly, she ran her next Marine Corps marathon in 3:29.

“She’s works hard.  She’s very quiet and she takes it all in.  She’s got a goal in mind, and if she makes it, that will make her happy,” Ernestine said.

This July, Karen will represent the U.S. in Athens as a half-marathoner.  She was originally tapped to run the marathon, but that event was cancelled.  Karen traveled to Ireland eight years ago as a Special Olympics Athlete and participated in the torch run four years ago in China, but this year’s honor really stands out.

 “It’s a great sense of pride,” Ernestine said.  “We know she’ll be a great representative.”

For more information on the Special Olympics, click here.