A 19-year-old from Jacksonville is on track to become the youngest person with Down syndrome to run the New York City Marathon.
Caleb Prewitt has built a running journey that started with a 5K during the COVID-19 pandemic and has grown into marathons, triathlons, and world records.
Caleb was diagnosed with Down syndrome when he was just 1 day old. His mother, Karen Prewitt, said the diagnosis was overwhelming at first, especially because of the limitations society often places on people with Down syndrome.
“Society’s message to parents and to individuals with Down syndrome is really not very positive,” Karen Prewitt said. “So there was a lot of limitations on what he would be able to do.”
Karen and David Prewitt decided they would raise Caleb the same way they raised his siblings who do not have Down syndrome.
That mindset eventually helped lead Caleb into running.
“I loved running,” Caleb said.
Caleb’s running journey started during COVID-19, when he and his mom trained together to run a 5K. In December 2020, they completed that goal.
What started as one race soon became something bigger.
“Okay, he’s done the 5K, you know a big check mark on the calendar,” Karen said. “And then Stephen, our friend said, you know, hey, maybe we should start looking at maybe a 10K.”
Since then, Caleb has competed in triathlons, 10Ks, six half marathons and two marathons.
He also has three world records, including being the youngest person with Down syndrome to run a half marathon.
Karen said she never imagined Caleb’s running would grow this far.
“Oh gosh no,” Karen said. “I mean, you know, like I said, we raised him with kind of a no-limits mindset, but that’s a big dream.”
That “no limits” mindset is also the hashtag Caleb uses on his Instagram account, “calebscrew,” which has more than 46,000 followers.
Karen said the account started as a way to raise awareness for Down syndrome. Now, she said it is also about pushing for inclusion.
“It’s more of inclusion across the board,” Karen said. “We really want to push for people like Caleb and his other friends with intellectual disabilities to be out there in community.”
Caleb is set to run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.
People who want to follow Caleb during the race can use bib number 16968 in the TCS New York City Marathon app.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.