COURAGE beyond competition was on display as the lone wheelchair participant, Juliet McLean, and 93-year-old Gina Powell joined others in the recent Jamaica Hi5 5k Reggae Run/Walk at Miramar Regional Park in South Florida.

McLean — who was the first starter in the sixth staging of the Consulate General Oliver Mair and team-coordinated event to help raise vital funds for the Adopt-A-Clinic initiative in Jamaica — is determined to keep doing this for the cause.

“I am doing my part,” said McLean, who was taking part in the run/walk for the second year.

She said track and field has always been an interest for her, especially during her high school years at the Convent of Mercy Academy “Alpha” in Kingston.

For the last 10 years McLean has battled transverse myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord). Paralysis at the onset was immediate, resulting in battles with denials and depression. She has, however, remained motivated, “and I am not about to stop or slow down”.

In preparation for the race McLean occasionally joined an exercise group at the venue. The group was there every Saturday working out.

Thanking the Madge Lewis Foundation for sponsoring her participation in the event, she crossed the finishing line with arms raised, beaming with pride at accomplishing a challenging undertaking.

Juliet McLean, the lone wheelchair participant in the recent Jamaica Hi5 5k Reggae Run/Walk at Miramar Regional Park in South Florida, raises her hands in celebration as she approaches the finishing line.

“It was fun, and being active gives one purpose. It is going the distance… and being quite driven,” said McLean as she pointed out that this is a conviction she believes is shared by the record more than 1,500 participants.

Powell, who was entering the event for a second time, agreed.

“It is something special. After that first two miles there’s a feeling of elevation — a liberation for your second wind… and that’s indescribable,” said Powell, a picture of youth though she claims she is a “relic of yesteryear”.

Powell, who improved on last year’s time, walked steadily with her partner and grandniece Aloyra Clayton whose mother, Loren Clayton, was one of the runners in the race.

Powell grew up in Hopewell, Hanover, and attended Hopewell Elementary School before her family moved to St James where she attended Montego Bay High for girls.

She said she walked miles to school and would win all her distance events when she competed as a student.

After completing studies as a medical doctor in England, she opted not to do her residency but taught medical science at the University of California-San Diego, where her now late husband, Robert, also taught.

Living in La Jolla, coastal California, Powell kept on walking, focusing on her well-being with a diet of fruits, vegetables, tofu, lentils, beans, peas and rice.

According to Powell she avoided meat, as growing up in rural Jamaica it was difficult to eat chickens, goats, and other animals after watching them being killed.

Like McLean, she was pleased with the level of interest the Diaspora has shown in health and wellness, and was quite heartened about the turnout, as well as the post-event celebration.

“I danced to the reggae music until the day was all done. I love to dance as well,” declared McLean.

The two women are planning to return next year, and the 93-year-old was quick to point out, “I was not the last across the finish line. Neither was McLean”.