An Ausome Father’s Reason for Running

Ausome is hitting our stride in the lead-up to Ottawa Race Weekend 2022 on May 28-29! It’s truly inspiring to see so many people from different parts of our community coming together to run as team.ausome and raise funds to support the creation of more sports and recreation programs. James Jarrett, the father of budding Ausome athlete Fraser, shares his motivation for running this year. 

Last year our son Fraser was diagnosed with autism. He is a very active 3-year-old with lots of energy to burn and loves nothing more than climbing, running, sliding, and generally making his presence known! Playing sports and being active have always been a key part of my life, and I hope to share similar experiences with Fraser in an environment that is fun, collaborative, and supportive of his unique needs.

The last few months have been challenging as we learn to adjust our expectations and try to be the best parents that we can be for him. This has proven to be a steep learning curve for me. I am working to move from a difficult initial phase of acceptance and focusing on my own feelings, to a more productive place of optimism and recognizing all the great things Fraser can do and which make him happy. It is comforting to know that there are programs such as Ausome which help to foster inclusion and celebration of autism in the local community and allow our children to actively participate.

It has been several years since I ran any kind of running race, so the training has been hard! I am finding that the recovery is much different in my late thirties from what I remember in my early thirties! However, working towards a goal has certainly helped to get back into shape – mentally and physically – and the added incentive of raising funds for a cause that aligns with my own values has kept me going whenever I hit ‘the wall’.

After the race has been and gone, I hope to get Fraser involved in more activities in the local community while also keeping up my new running routine – as much as possible!

You can support James’ Ausome fundraiser here. And visit the team.ausome Race Weekend page for more information.