Teen sets XC personal best with guide dog in tow

Sami is a long-time runner, you see, but when she was diagnosed with a form of macular degeneration during her eighth grade year, she knew she wasn’t going to let a disease keep her from running through life.

“If you love something enough,” she says, “then you’ll find a way to do it.”

During her first race with Chloe, she set a personal record. Since then, she’s become a local celebrity and frequent inspirational speaker at local events. And now, Sami is the first sanctioned athlete to complete with a guide dog in the sport in the state of Ohio, and she’s not stopping her XC career in high school.

USA Today reports that Sami hopes to compete in college on Otterbein University’s team with Chloe by her side. Take a look at Sami and Chloe’s accomplishments below, thanks to ABC News…

We think Sami’s determination is incredibly inspiring, and we’ll be cheering the duo on for years to come. What do you think of Sami’s story?

BY BRITTANY TAYLOR ON 12/7/2012 12:00:00 AM

POSTED IN athlete, running, Get Inspired