Taylor Parsons

Growing up, I was a three-sport athlete, but running was always the part I dreaded. If you had told me years ago that I would willingly sign up to run long distances for fun, I would have laughed.

Then in 2025, I ran my first race: a 5K at Walt Disney World while fundraising for Hope Story. What started as a challenge quickly became something I genuinely loved.

Since then, running has become about much more than miles.

It’s for the little girl who was told she was slow. It’s for the young adult who struggled with confidence and never felt like she fit the image of an athlete. It’s for the mom who still has hard days with body image but has learned that runners come in all shapes and sizes and that her body is a runner’s body.

As I approach my 30th birthday, I decided to do something I never thought I could do: run my first half marathon.

In October 2026, I’ll be running 13.1 magical miles through Walt Disney World. To make this journey even more meaningful, I’m raising money for Hope Story.

Every donation helps support individuals with Down Syndrome and their families while reminding me why I started this journey in the first place: to prove that being “slow” never meant I couldn’t do hard things.

Thank you for supporting me, this cause, and every mile along the way.