Adaptive Youth Mile prep
Adaptive Sports New England has been training children with mobility and visual impairments on the track at Catholic Memorial High School ahead of the Youth Mile on April 18. (wcvb.com). The clinics focus on wheelchair and guided running skills to prepare athletes for the race day before the main marathon. (wcvb.com)
Children with mobility and visual impairments are training in West Roxbury for the Boston Athletic Association’s Youth Mile on Saturday, April 18. (wcvb.com) Adaptive Sports New England has been holding those sessions at Catholic Memorial School, where its wheelchair track program meets on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. from April 4 through August 15. (adaptivesportsne.org) The race they are preparing for is the inaugural Boston Athletic Association Youth Mile, a free event for ages 7 to 14 on Boylston Street that ends at the Boston Marathon finish line. Registration for 2026 has already reached capacity. (baa.org) The Youth Mile schedule includes a wheelchair division for all ages at 1:50 p.m. on April 18, alongside age-group races for girls and boys. The course runs as a counterclockwise loop on Boylston Street, starting at Dartmouth Street and finishing near the Boston Public Library. (baa.org) Adaptive Sports New England said its sport club programs are built for youth with visual or mobility impairments and are designed to add specialized coaching alongside school and community sports. The group said its coaches include Paralympic medalists and other experienced instructors. (adaptivesportsne.org) The organization’s broader mission is to increase sports participation among New England youth and adults with visual or mobility impairments, and it also works with schools, leagues and coaches on inclusive event formats and guide training. Its listed partners include the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. (adaptivesportsne.org) For the athletes on the Catholic Memorial track, the training is practical: wheelchair racers work on speed and handling, and runners with visual impairments practice with guides before race day. WCVB reported the clinics are meant to prepare them for the Youth Mile held the weekend before the Boston Marathon. (wcvb.com) On April 18, that work moves from a school track in West Roxbury to Boylston Street, where youth athletes will run or race over the same finish line used in the Boston Marathon. (baa.org)
