From a Wheelchair to the Cross-Country Course, Ian Clutter Defies the Odds and a Devastating Diagnosis While Inspiring Others to Run Towards Their Dreams
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
Ian Clutter does not remember a time when he did not want to be an athlete. However, he vividly remembers everyone who ever told him that dream was impossible.
Deeply rooted in his faith, supported by his rock-solid family, and driven by his strength of will and courage, Ian has silenced everyone who so loudly called attention to his perceived inabilities.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Ian spent much of his early childhood bound to a wheelchair. Now, he spends much of his free time outside of school on the cross-country course. The seventh grader with a radiant smile, a shy personality, and the endurance of a gladiator navigates each course he runs with the same fortitude he has relied upon to navigate every painful procedure and grueling rehabilitation session.
Steadfastness, strength, and with his eyes always on the finish line.
“Basically, I got bullied a lot when I was younger,” recounts Ian. “I had to learn to walk when I was four. I had my first surgery when I was nine, and then I had to learn to walk all over again. When I had my second surgery, it was a little bit easier, and my third surgery that I had was easy, and I was walking one hour after my surgery.”
“But it was painful,” admits Ian.
In all, he has had three surgeries. Each time, Ian has stood tall in the face of every physical trial. It was the emotional ones, however, that always threatened to bring him down.
Ian dreamed of being a football player. It was a dream that even in his most optimistic moments, he never imagined would come true. But another opportunity found him, and in it, Ian has found his calling.
For a child who had to learn to walk at the age of four, Ian, now 12 years old, has discovered he loves to run.
“I actually wanted to play football,” he says. “Pretty much all of my life. But I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to play football, and so one day after sixth grade (Beth) Ramey saw me running down the hall, and she told me I needed to run cross-country.”
Ian’s mom, Nikki, looked at her son and chimed in with a small detail Ian failed to mention.
“She told you to slow down and no running in the hall,” she said with a laugh.
That chance encounter in the hallway was a fortuitous one for Ian. Beth Ramey happens to be the wife of longtime Woodruff cross-country coach Steve Ramey, who is still involved with the program even after stepping away from his head coaching responsibilities.
Ian was initially apprehensive.
“No, I can’t do cross-country,” he told her.
Ramey was persistent, though, and with his mom’s encouragement, Ian reluctantly agreed to give the sport a try.
“My mom encouraged me to try it,” recounts Ian. “At the beginning of the season, I couldn’t even run a mile in 40 minutes, and now I can run two miles in 33 minutes.”
A miraculous achievement for Ian, who says Nikki would become quite frustrated after running a mere 10 feet in his first attempts on the course.
Through his exasperation, Ian found something else he had never had. Peers who believed in and supported him every day and every time he laced up his running shoes.
“I thought it was cool because my teammates are nice to me and my coaches are really nice to me, and they push me to keep going,” he states with an emphatic inflection. “It helps me a lot. If they weren’t there for me, I don’t think I would be on the team.”
But they are. And they all have faith in Ian.
Taught from a very young age that faith is enduring and that he can always turn toward his belief in God to provide the emotional strength he needs to take on what might seem physically impossible, it is a lesson Ian takes to heart.
That, says Nikki, was instilled in him from a very early age.
“It was really difficult for his dad and I just to watch him growing up, when he was in therapy after he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy,” she admits. “The therapists all told us Ian would never be able to walk and he would always have to have some type of assisted device. They told us their goal for him was to teach him how to live a life with a disability, and I was not going to accept that.”
She continues, “We taught Ian that having a disability was a blessing from the Lord, and it really is. As a mom, God gave Ian to us to push him and teach him how to overcome that. Even though (Cerebral Palsy) is never going to go away, to overcome it and be what God has called him to be, I didn’t take no for answer, so I left teaching and came home and did therapy with him.”
Ian is now thankful for the doors his disability has opened up for him.
“When I say my prayers at night, I thank God for me having Cerebral Palsy,” says Ian.
Nikki added, “And it took us years to get to that point.”
And those doors? Whenever another one opens, Ian does not walk through it.
He runs.
As he runs, those who support him the most are also cherishing the impact Ian has on them and the inspiration he provides to push themselves even further.
“Having Ian run with us this year has really been special,” says Woodruff cross-country head coach Ty Skinner. “The way that our team has rallied around him and encouraged him this season has been so cool to be a part of as a coach. I’ve never one time asked our kids to do the things that they have done for Ian this season. It’s a testament to the type of kids we have in our program and here at Woodruff. He’s been a real blessing to us this year.”
Beth Ramey looks back on the day she suggested Ian give cross-country a try and is proud of the young man he has become, and her wish is that Ian always loves to run.
“His teammates love him, and we hope that running remains a life-long endeavor for Ian,” proclaims Ramey.
If anyone should worry that Ian would fall out of love with cross-country, they needn’t have that thought for more than a second.
Ian, in fact, has lofty goals for his future and a kindred role model to provide him the same inspiration he infuses into others.
Justin Gallegos is a cross-country runner who competes for the University of Oregon. Gallegos, like Ian, was born with Cerebral Palsy and has used his platform, with the help of Nike, to raise awareness of the condition and prove that those who suffer from it are not confined by their physical limitations.
Ian admires Gallegos. So much so that he dreams of one day running for the Ducks as well.
“I love watching Justin run,” exclaims Ian. “I want to get a scholarship to Oregon for cross-country and run for them and maybe get sponsored by a brand. And when I do, I’m going to give my mom a couple million dollars!”
That is Ian and his entire mantra encapsulated into one proclamation. He wants to overcome everything in his way and help others in the process. His heart is even larger and more profound in its sincerity than his desire to succeed.
“I told him, one day, you could be somebody’s Justin,” adds Nikki.
That is just fine with Ian Clutter.
“It makes me feel happy when people try something new that they didn’t think they could do,” he says.
As Ian finished his first race, rounding the final turn and heading for the finish line, he looked up to see all of his teammates waiting for him. As he broke through the tape, Ian was hoisted onto their shoulders and carried to the center of the field in triumphant jubilation.
Just like the course he runs, everything has come full circle. Only Ian wants to run that circle time and time again.
There is a well-known verse in the New Testament book of 2 Timothy that is normally reserved as a memorial for those who have come to the end of their journey. It reads…
‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’
Only that verse applies to Ian in another but equally poignant way. Ian keeps his faith every day, and with that, and with those who love him by his side, he has many more races to run.
Author: Tracy Sanders
