Shirley Reilly

A Paralympian’s Oral History

SHIRLEY REILLY

2004 Paralympic Games – Athens 2008 Paralympic Games – Beijing 2012 Paralympic Games – London 2016 Paralympic Games – Rio – Track and Field –

Interviewed by: Alan Abrahamson February 20, 2019 Los Angeles, California

This oral history may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form without prior written consent of the LA84 Foundation

www.LA84.org LA84 Foundation 2141 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018 SHIRLEY REILLY

Alan Abrahamson Interviewer: Good morning. It is Wednesday, February 20, 8:25 a.m., I'm Alan Abrahamson, and we are here with Shirley Reilly. Good morning to you.

Reilly: Good morning.

Abrahamson: We are here in Los Angeles, California, for the next in our series with Paralympic champions, of which you are one. How does that feel to say Paralympic champion?

Reilly: I am very honored and excited to say that.

Abrahamson: We are delighted to have you here.

Reilly: Thank you for having me.

Abrahamson: Before we start, big, broad, open question – anything. If the answer is nothing, if the answer is something, feel free. Anything you want to say at the get-go about this idea, this project, the idea of the Paralympics in general, the idea of Paralympic athletes? Just anything, it can be nothing, it can be something. And if the answer comes to you over the next two hours, interject, just generally.

Reilly: What does Paralympics mean to me?

Abrahamson: Just generally, just an open-ended question.

Reilly: I think it shows that we are elite athletes, and we are the same as able-bodied athletes, and that we – Paralympics is a great way to show inclusion. And, it is a great way to be open-minded, and to really educate – my goal really is to show that Paralympics is an elite status level, and if we can show the US the same way that London showed us the same appreciation, and the same recognition that we got when we're in London, we're on the right path to really show how we are elite status, and that everyone should know about it, and be a part of it.

Abrahamson: What I think we're going to do here so we can sketch this out is we're going to start like Mary Poppins in the very beginning, and we're going to circle all the way back to London, and then Rio, and now it's 2019, and I'll try to ask you that same exact question to wrap up again, after we talk for almost two hours. Tell me – I don't think you have any memory of this, but you know the story. Where were you born?

Reilly: I was born in Anchorage, Alaska.

Abrahamson: Which is the one of the 50 states I have not been to.

Reilly: I have not been back there since I've been born. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska. My mom's side is from Barrow, Alaska. And yeah, I was born – when my mom was in labor, she went to Anchorage. She had me there. But my whole family, my mom's side of the family and my brother, and his family live in Barrow, Alaska.

Abrahamson: And they are Native American?

Reilly: Yes, we are Alaskan Native.

Abrahamson: And your father's side?

Reilly: And my dad is an Irish guy. He is from Maryland.

Abrahamson: What was he doing in Alaska, of all places?

Reilly: He graduated; he went to Xavier.

Abrahamson: Xavier, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wow.

Reilly: Yeah, he went to college in Xavier. He graduated, and then he went on a plane, and he saw an ad to get some work in Alaska, being a construction worker, and he just took the risk of going up there, and being a recent college grad, and not knowing what he's doing, went up there. Didn't have much money in his pocket, and he went up there, to worked there for a couple years, and he met my mom, and that's how –

Abrahamson: And as they tell the story, was it like love at first sight?

Reilly: I think it kind of was. My mom had always said that – she worked at a Japanese restaurant, and so, he was there. and then, she also – she saw him once. She had a couple of jobs, and she also worked at a hotel. She saw my dad there, and so, I guess it was not love at first sight, but they definitely liked each other, just by meeting each other through her work.

Abrahamson: Are there two, your brother and you?

Reilly: I have an older sister and two older brothers, and I'm the youngest.

Abrahamson: You're the baby.

Reilly: I'm the baby, yes.

Abrahamson: The reason I'm asking this, people in your family, do they call you the baby, are you the younger sister, or what do they call you?

Reilly: They don't call me the baby. I guess – I got teased about it a lot when I was a kid, just being a younger sibling, "You're the baby." They keep babying you. But yeah, they don't call me the little –

Abrahamson: And how do you think of yourself in the sibling dynamic, because it's been fascinating in the course of these oral histories to talk to people about the family dynamic and the way family structures and the way people – the way they grow up, the way all these things play into their championship mentalities. That's why I'm asking.

Reilly: Basically, for me, I was the only kid with a disability –

Abrahamson: In your family?

Reilly: Right, in my family. What happened was, I guess I could tell you a little bit about how I was born. I was born premature about six weeks, and I was put in an incubator. And, when I was in an incubator, the oxygen wasn't turned up high enough, so I suffocated, and both my –

Abrahamson: You suffocated?

Reilly: I suffocated, yeah. And both my lungs had filled with blood and ruptured, and then, that's what paralyzed me from the waist down.

But growing up, my family, very athletic. All my brothers, both my brothers play basketball. My sister – and they both play basketball, they both play football, and me and my sister were cheerleaders. And then I was always involved in track. I was involved in a wheelchair support program called Wheels on Fire in San Jose. And they have multiple sports. So, I tried everything from basketball, table tennis, archery, swimming, and track, of course because track is the thing that I found out I was good at.

Abrahamson: Let's back up just a sec. So, it's a girl, two boys, girl?

Reilly: It's a boy, girl, boy, girl.

Abrahamson: And when did the family move from Alaska back down to the Bay Area?

Reilly: Not too long after I was born. I needed – I have scoliosis, so as I got older, I got really bad scoliosis. I needed to put rods in my back. And so, we moved down to California, better medical care, and that was why we went to Shriners Hospital. They are the ones who did my surgery.

I've actually had two major back surgeries, because the first time they put my rod in, they were too long, and they were touching on my bladder. And so, I was losing

bladder control. So, once we found that out, we had to do immediate surgery, and redo it again, and put in the correct size.

Abrahamson: And how old were you then?

Reilly: I was 12 years old.

Abrahamson: Wow.

Reilly: And I was in the hospital for about three months, long time. I don't think it would have been that long because of just having to do it again. That recovery time took a lot longer than we wanted it to.

Abrahamson: Everyone normalizes everything. Kids know what they know. So, you knew mobility as you knew it. Some of the stories we've heard have been "This is what I knew." Did you ever have the "What if, why me?" moment, or –

Reilly: Never.

Abrahamson: You've already said, "I was a cheerleader." You were in San Jose or Los Gatos or where?

Reilly: When we first moved down to California we moved to San Jose, and then we lived there for a couple years, and then my parents wanted to move to Los Gatos.

Abrahamson: Was the school district accommodating or were there issues?

Reilly: My father has told me that – and I don't remember this – but I guess in elementary school, they wanted to put me in a special school, and I don't remember anything about that. But he said that they wanted to put me in a special school, because of the accessibility part of it, and he fought them, and said, "No, she'll be just fine," and it ended up working out OK. I went to the school that he originally wanted me put in. And I didn't have any issues.

Abrahamson: Do you have any memory whatsoever of your mobility being an issue in any way whatsoever?

Reilly: Not really, because when I was in elementary school I used to always be on a skateboard.

Abrahamson: On a skateboard? Tell me about that.

Reilly: I loved being on a skateboard. Being on a skateboard to me was – I hated being in my chair. I always wanted to be out of it.

Abrahamson: You just perch yourself on your butt and go on a skateboard?

Reilly: My brother's friend had a skateboard, and I always used to steal it. And everyone just gave it to me, because I always was on it.

Abrahamson: Did you put yourself on your knees or on your backside, or how did you do it?

Reilly: I was on my knees, and I sat on it, and I would just use my arm to –

Abrahamson: Do you have video from those days or pictures?

Reilly: I don't have a video, but it's so funny, because growing up, I think I was in high school, I met this guy. It's a small world, he must have visited my elementary school. I must have never met him. He didn't go to that school, and he goes, "Oh my gosh, I remember you. You're the girl on the skateboard." And I go, "Yes, that was me."

Abrahamson: Did you have your own skateboard?

Reilly: I love – I don't have my old skateboard anymore, but –

Abrahamson: Did you have your own skateboard?

Reilly: It was wasn't – it was my brother's friend's skateboard. I kind of just took over and he let me have it. So, yes, I had my own skateboard.

Abrahamson: Did you ever feel like you talk to some people who use a wheelchair, and some of them say the chair is an instrument of liberation. Some say it's an instrument of confinement. For you, how do you feel about using a wheelchair?

Reilly: I love it now. I'm totally accustomed to it. I can't imagine life without it. It doesn't make me feel like I'm confined to it. I think when I was younger, when I was on my skateboard, I just liked going fast, and I can go faster 0n my skateboard than I could in my wheelchair.

Abrahamson: Can you describe in your words that feeling of going fast? The rush in your head of going fast.

Reilly: Right. It's just an adrenaline rush, I think. Everybody loves to – if you talk to any kind of runner, they love that adrenaline rush. The wind in your face. Everything, the excitement of going fast.

Abrahamson: Is anybody else in your family a competitive athlete?

Reilly: Like I said, we all grew up playing sports, and so, my brother was very competitive in football.

Abrahamson: Did he play high school football?

Reilly: He did play high school football, yes.

Abrahamson: College football?

Reilly: Not college football, no. I am the – my sister went to – she graduated [from] cosmetology school, and she went to – she's a chef – and she went to culinary school, as well. But I'm the only one that graduated from college besides my dad.

Abrahamson: At age 12, you have one surgery or two for scoliosis?

Reilly: I had two back surgeries and then I've also had a couple hip surgeries, and a couple ankle surgeries.

Abrahamson: So, you're the bionic woman?

Reilly: Yes.

Abrahamson: At age 12, you have one surgery or two?

Reilly: I had two surgeries because I had to have them back to back.

Abrahamson: And did that help fix the scoliosis?

Reilly: It did, yes.

Abrahamson: At one point did you start getting competitive, or realizing that there might be an avenue for this going fast thing, that you realized that was appealing?

Reilly: I got older, and I found out about the Paralympics when I was being a part of the wheelchair – being a part of the center of the wheelchair program.

Abrahamson: And how did you find out about that?

Reilly: Well, what they do is the sports program. What they do is the youth sports program. We travel every year to wherever the nationals is at, the junior nationals is what they call it. And in the US, and they pick a place, and this is where a bunch of different teams come together, and they compete. And they do different sports, and that's how I find out talking about different people – And some years, they have international athletes come and compete with us, as well. And I found out about that through actually, my coach told me about it later, and just talking to other athletes, they told me about the Paralympics.

Abrahamson: Yeah, but at some point, you had to become an athlete to hear about these things. That's what I'm trying to find out. So, you're a 12- or 13-year-old girl on your

skateboard. So, the question I'm asking is the transition from that to becoming a starter athlete to then, "Oh, the Paralympics are there. Maybe I might someday be good enough to do that." Walk us through the transition from, "Oh, I'm going to be 'an athlete.'" How did that start?

Reilly: Once I found out about the Paralympics –

Abrahamson: And how – so I told you the story. I was watching TV in Dayton, Ohio, I saw the Olympics. How did you find out first about the idea of the Paralympics?

Reilly: I found out about it talking to other athletes at the junior national sports program.

Abrahamson: And where was that, please?

Reilly: I can't remember exactly where it was at, but I know just talking to other people, even my coach brought it up regularly, and I didn't know about that. So, just talking to my coach about it at the time, he was running that junior sports program was on fire, and once I looked it up, and I started to hear about the famous athletes, like Chantal Petitclerc , Jean Driscoll, all those other people, and once I watched it – there was a video – we actually videotaped Sydney, Australia, when they did a clip on there. I think NBC was the one that did the like an hour special.

Abrahamson: Would this have been late '90s or just after the Sydney Olympics?

Reilly: It was just after the Sydney Paralympics. And he showed me, he recorded that video, and he gave it to me, and I remember watching it, and just being in awe of how just everything about the stadium being filled, how competitive it was. That was the moment for me where I knew when I was 14 that I wanted to be a Paralympian.

Abrahamson: That's what I'm after, exactly. So, had you already started taking part in competitions or races or something in the Bay Area?

Reilly: I was already by this time, like I said, when we traveled to junior nationals, we compete in events that we want to compete in. And so, by that time, I was already competing. It was at a junior level, of course, it wasn't an early level at all. But they definitely still have – the nice thing about those junior competitions was that they have standards for – they have world records for this event, or the person that had the highest time at that level, in that event. They would say "Junior school has the American record and this." But it wasn't a junior level. And so, I started getting really competitive with that, and I realized, "Wow, I could be pretty good at this if I train more than three times a week."

Abrahamson: Right, and of course you're going to school.

Reilly: And I was going to school, yes.

Abrahamson: You were going to high school then? Or middle school, one of the two.

Reilly: Yeah, high school, middle school, but when I'm finding out about it.

Abrahamson: And what kind of equipment were you using? Not this kind of chair. Did you have a racing chair?

Reilly: I had a racing chair, yes. My coach had given me his racing chair that he used when he used to compete, and he wasn't at an elite level. He did it more of a junior level. But I was very excited he used it, because it fit me just really well.

Abrahamson: It did fit you? That's very interesting, because as you now know very well –

Reilly: Right. They have to be very custom made. And it fit me – luckily, we were both pretty small, and it fit me really well, and I really enjoyed it. I think that really helped me excel in the sport. And then we ordered another chair, and it was, of course, way too big, because I didn't know how to measure chairs. And that was kind of where I knew that I could maybe try it out and see if I could be good enough to be at the elite level.

Abrahamson: Looking back on it, Shirley, do you think to yourself – this is almost 20 years ago now, right? So, do you think back to yourself, because I'm talking to Marty and others, we're talking, let's say the year, 2000, and I think especially about the conversation with Marty – talk about the '70s and the '80s, there was no such thing as a junior level, or junior qualification – or stuff like that. Think about this. You had by the time you were 14, junior benchmarks to measure yourself against, and here you are in the Bay Area of all places, just to generalize, a fairly progressive place, with programs, and benchmarks, and standards.

Do you now look back on that and think to yourself, "We have a long way to go," which I think Los Angeles in nine or 10 years is going to rocket this thing forward? But do you think to yourself, "Wow, look where we were in 2000."

Reilly: Actually, it's humbling to think like that, because you bring it up. I actually don't think about where I started, but looking back at it, it brings back a lot of memories, because thinking about I can maybe do this at a junior level, and then being wide- eyed about how competitive and how much more work I really needed to do to be at the elite level is amazing. But the progress, obviously, was exciting, because I always had goals to be – I want to be under a minute in 400 meters. I always had goals going in the next year, or the next junior meet, I would always have goals to try and beat the times that I had last year.

Abrahamson: Shirley, let me ask you this. I told you that I wrote Michael Phelps's book, and in talking with great athletes like you, like Michael, great athletes have always had goals. Where do you think inside you this comes from?

Reilly: I think everybody strives to be the best, to wanting, to just wanting to have – always be better than what you think you can be.

Abrahamson: What do you think – take a second and think about this. There's a difference between – I'm going to do a small brag here. I'm 60-years-old, and on Sunday, I ran a minute a mile in seven minutes and 49 seconds. That's not the end-all, be- all, but for a 60-year-old guy, whoo.

But you're different than me. You are a championship athlete. You're – the difference between someone like you and Michael Phelps on one category and me on the other is mental toughness. Everybody wants to be like you, but there's something different about you. What is that difference? And when you were 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and as you got to be older, and even mentally tougher, you knew that. Where did that come from?

Reilly: I think just the love of my sport. I loved competing and when we put that many hours into training, you want to see results, and you enjoy it throughout the journey. And knowing you have these goals and knowing that you don't want to give up on these goals, because you are going to be so happy once you get there that you did everything you can to get to that point.

Abrahamson: I love that answer. Let me ask it one more time in a slightly different way.

Reilly: That's OK.

Abrahamson: Everyone loves to win. What Michael told me once is "I hate to lose." How would you describe it?

Reilly: I would describe it the same way. No one wants to be the second, third, fourth. Everyone doesn't train to be second or third. Everyone trains to win.

Abrahamson: When you were 14, – 13,14,15, did you say to your family – or did you – what kind of conversations did you have with your mom, and your dad, your brothers, and your sisters, saying, "You know what? I think we have something here. I think I might be kind of good at this." Or did they have this conversation with you? Because to get there, there had to be some sort of family recognition that in fact –

Reilly: I never really had a conversation with my family. It was more once I moved to Arizona, and I got really into a really good training regimen, that's where I think I really learned how to learn the discipline of training six days a week and lifting weights three days a week. I really learned the specific hard work and dedication that it took to be another level.

Abrahamson: Take me through the rest of high school and then going to Arizona. Walk me through that, please.

Reilly: When I was in high school, I always knew that I wanted to go to Arizona. It was the place where I was already getting recruited –

Abrahamson: To U of A?

Reilly: To U of A, yes. University of Arizona. They have a great wheelchair track program. I and my fiancé lived out there, too. So, they had – I got recruited by Derek Brown, who was a track coach at the time, and he still is, but he had a couple different track coaches come along the years. But Derek Brown was the one that recruited me in high school to say, "Come down, I wanted to give a you a scholarship, track scholarship. And I think we can do something; we'd love to have you. I think you have great potential." It was a no-brainer for me. I was like, "Great, I would love to come down." It was close to my family. It was warm weather. I's where I want to be.

Abrahamson: Again, take a step back. Ten years before that, 15 years before that, the idea of getting a track scholarship to a woman with a disability would have been unthinkable. Did you think about that?

Reilly: Like I said, it's so nice to see the change that has happened throughout the years that we have a track program, that we have scholarships, that we see this change that we have today, which is phenomenal to me. I do think Derek Brown comes from Illinois; he went to Illinois. And then when he went to Arizona, that's where he started the track program.

Abrahamson: Are the two schools rivals?

Reilly: We are.

Abrahamson: Have you been to Champagne?

Reilly: I've actually never been to Champagne. That's one place I haven't been.

Abrahamson: Little warmer in Tucson than in Champagne, I think, right?

Reilly: It's a lot warmer in Tucson than in Champagne.

Abrahamson: So, what was the adjustment like going from the Bay Area to Tucson? For me, my life started when I went to Evanston, and went to Northwestern. So, what was it like for you in Tucson?

Reilly: It was a nice change. Like I said, once I moved to being 18, and straight out of high school, going on our scholarship, I was very excited, because I got to train with other elite athletes, and it was so phenomenal because I learned how to train and saw the dedication in other athletes, which also motivated me to be right there

with them.

Abrahamson: Tell me the three things you learned. I teach journalism at USC. So, I try to tell the young people – I'm teaching a sophomore level news writing course this year, and I tell them, "We're going to learn to write, but basically I'm like, 'Be on time and follow directions.'" Tell me the three big picture things you learned, say, your first two years there.

Reilly: For me, the big change was first of all, I was there for only a year, and that's when we tried out for the trial to do Athens, Greece. That was my first Olympics. And so, that was a big change, because everything, looking back at it, everything was so – it was quick. Years happened quickly, and I just remember arriving, training with the team, and then going to trials, and being in shock that I was able to make the team. Because at the time, I was training for – I did everything. I didn't know what I was doing. I was like, "I'm going to do the 100, the 200, 400, 800, 15 – I did it all." And then I qualified for the 1[00], 4[00] and 8[00].

Abrahamson: In Athens?

Reilly: At 19 years old I was so happy, because I was like, "Wow," I felt like an amateur. I felt very out of place, just because I was shocked that I made the team, and it was my first-time experience. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. And the whole thing was I felt really lucky just to be selected, and to really just go through the whole experience, and enjoy it, and see what happens.

Abrahamson: As people like to say in academia, and I'm not an academic, let's unpack that. Back up – had you taken part in the World Games a couple years before that, though? In 2002? So, you'd had some experience in it.

Reilly: I did have some experience. At the time I was a sprinter. At least, I thought I was a sprinter. I wasn't. And again, for me, it was a total shock that I was able to make the team, and I remember I was 16 years old – I actually forgot about 2002 – and for me, that was an amazing experience, because I knew how much it was going to take to get to an elite level, and I was very thankful to go through the experience, and just really try to learn what I can from the other athletes, and see what I can do.

Abrahamson: I totally understand the experience of forgetting about something like that. But was that your first international flight?

Reilly: That was my first international flight, yes.

Abrahamson: And what was – you're a teenager – do you now looking back on it, remember much, if anything, about it?

Reilly: I remember I was very excited. I remember my mom went with me. And I

remember flying on the flight, and just thinking about how lucky I really was to be selected, because I was not expecting it at all. And just trying not to put so much pressure on myself, because I was so nervous about how I was going to do. And then, once everything started to unfold, it became a lot easier. But, I really was taking it all in as a learning process for me.

Abrahamson: Do you remember what place you finished?

Reilly: I do not remember what I finished. I remember I did the 100 and yeah, it was so long ago.

Abrahamson: Did you do any sightseeing at all?

Reilly: I did a little bit of sightseeing. I went out of town with my mom for a little bit on one of the days that I had off.

Abrahamson: Do you speak any French?

Reilly: I don't. Me being, hearing loss and accents, and things like that, it doesn't go well.

Abrahamson: So, the trials process for Athens, what do you remember about that?

Reilly: I don't remember the trials, to be honest, it's been so long. I do not remember the trials. I just remember being very shocked when they called me to say that I'd been selected to go to the Paralympic team. And that was a very special moment. And I was very excited about that. And I was in shock, really, because I knew my chances of medaling was very slim, and I knew that through – I knew I wasn't at the top of the elite level yet. I just knew that I was very fortunate to make it, let's just put it that way.

Abrahamson: Whenever I write this, people always get very, very upset at me. I'll just use the Olympics as an example, rather than the Paralympics, because the numbers are easier. At an Olympic Games, there are 10,000 athletes in the summer Games. So, there are roughly 900 medals. So, just to make the math easier, that means that one of every ten people is getting a medal.

So, if you're Michael Phelps, and you're gobbling up a lot of medals, that means fewer than one in10 people. Not true – basically one in 10 people. So, that means that for most people, and understandably, because this is really the point of the Olympics, not just the medals, the point of the Olympics is the Opening Ceremony. Right? Because that's when we, the great we, are all together on the in-field, celebrating the fact that life is a gift. We're all here together, and we're all together celebrating the possibility that maybe, like my soul poet, Rodney King, once said, "Maybe we can all just get along." Maybe. That's why I love the Olympics and the Paralympics. "Maybe we can get along." Do you remember the ceremony?

Reilly: In Athens?

Abrahamson: Yes.

Reilly: I do remember the ceremony. It was very exciting, because again, I didn't know what to expect. We were all there together, full of adrenaline. I had too much food and water, and I had to go to the bathroom. The minute we walked into that stadium, I learned my lesson the hard way, I never did that again. And that was – but it was so exciting. Everybody was together, like you said, and it was Team USA, and all the other countries, and it was phenomenal, it was very, very exciting, because I never experienced anything like that.

Abrahamson: Did you get the chance to talk to athletes from other countries?

Reilly: Definitely, yes. I got to talk to people from Australia, Great Britain. Once you're in the stadium, though, you're with your team, so you can't talk to them in there. But, of course, in the Village, yes, it's very exciting.

Abrahamson: And what are your memories – I'll get to the races in a second here. What are your memories of life in the village, or life in the food court/hall/whatever?

Reilly: Which one are you talking about? Athens?

Abrahamson: This is just Athens right now.

Reilly: Athens was very fun. Like I said, I got to go sightseeing a little bit. The food was very good. Like I said, it's always been about when you go into the cafeteria, and they have all these different foods, different food areas, genres, they'll have the American, and they'll have the Chinese, and everything like that. That was very interesting. That was very eye-opening for me. I guess because I didn't know what to expect. I've never been to the Paralympics before. And it was exciting. It was a very big Village. It was a little bit inaccessible because it's an older building.

Abrahamson: Because it's Athens. I was there for the Olympics, and I'm here to tell you it was inaccessible for me.

Reilly: And so, that was very – but the weather was beautiful. We had – we lucked out. There wasn't much rain there, and it was such nice weather. And, I got to meet some of the athletes a little bit closer, which was really nice, too, because I had a lot of downtime, as well.

Abrahamson: So, since you had some downtime, do you think that you were, at that time, old enough or had had enough experience – since you're female, you obviously have more maturity than me, dumb male, to be reflective enough to think, "Wow, look at where I am and what I'm doing and all this. I'm so lucky, or I'm here." Just to be at the Paralympics must have been to have achieved a dream.

Reilly: It was a dream come true, for sure. I was – like I said, I took a lot of things in the first couple years of being a Paralympian, and exactly getting that support. I remember on the last – it was the day before we had to leave. When we were leaving, I remember in Athens, we had an earthquake, and that was very interesting, because it was the morning of the marathon. I didn't do the marathon, because I wasn't a marathoner yet. I remember waking up, and my whole bed is shaking. I go, "What's going on?" It's an earthquake. Running out, and going in the doorway, and my roommate, she wasn't in the room. She must've been somewhere, and I just remember there was an earthquake, and I was like, "OK. Are they going to cancel the marathon?" But yeah, that was very interesting, when that happened.

Abrahamson: I'm tempted to ask this question after the races, but I'm going to ask it now. When you came back home to Arizona or to the Bay Area, when people had asked you, "Shirley, what was it like?" What did you say?

Reilly: I told them it was a very fun experience. I said that I would totally go back again, and I want to go back again, and I want to do better. The drive for me is always wanting to do better. But I told them it was an amazing experience, because I didn't know what to expect, and I knew I wanted to go back, whether it be there or somewhere else, and I'd say, "Now I know what to expect," in general, as an athlete's perspective. And I told them it was beautiful. The food was beautiful, and I had a really great time. And, I was really fortunate to be making the team.

Abrahamson: I'm going to ask this question again in a different way after we go through the races. Now, walk me through the races.

1[00], 2[00] and 8[00], is that right? ] Reilly: The 1[00] 2[00] and 8[00] for Athens, yes – 1[00] 2-[00] and 8[00].

Abrahamson: Which one do you want to do first?

Reilly: It's funny, because my longer distance ones, I don't really remember. I remember the 100 like it was yesterday.

Abrahamson: Yesterday it is.

Reilly: My 100 event, I –

Abrahamson: What lane were you in yesterday?

Reilly: I was in lane eight, and I think I was the last person to qualify into the finals. And I remember being at that start lane, and my arms were just wobbly shaking, because I was so nervous. And I was so, so nervous, and I remember how – I just

remember how nervous I was and hoping – because it was my first race. It was my first event, so I didn't know what to experience, and luckily, I got in my lane; I finished. and everything was – I didn't false start. I think I was really nervous about that. And yeah, I just remember the adrenaline rush that I got, and how nervous I was, and once again, went off, I was able to finally go, and finish.

I knew I wasn't going to – I knew competitively, I always hoped, strived to be the best, but me knowing myself, and knowing the times and things like that, I knew the chances of medaling wasn't going to be a great one, but I was very happy to just be a part of such an elite group at that time.

Abrahamson: What place did you finish?

Reilly: I believe I placed eight.

Abrahamson: So, let's be realistic here. You were 19 years old, and you were a finalist.

Reilly: I know. I was very lucky.

Abrahamson: That's awesome.

Reilly: I was very excited, especially knowing now that I – how in the world was I a sprinter? I still can't wrap my head around how I used to be a sprinter, but –

Abrahamson: When you look back on it now, are you a little easier on yourself?

Reilly: Yeah, I think it was adrenaline rush, and amazed, I really am.

Abrahamson: Let me ask you again. Now that you're a Paralympic gold medalist in the marathon, are you a little easier on yourself for having made the Paralympic finals as a sprinter?

Reilly: I am, yes. I thank my lucky stars that I was able to get into those events.

Abrahamson: Now, really and truly, are you?

Reilly: I am, yeah.

Abrahamson: When you crossed the finish line, did you think to yourself, "Huh, I wish I would have won."

Reilly: I'm definitely very easy on myself as far as just saying, "That was a fun race. That was really exciting, and I'm glad to be a part of it."

Abrahamson: Now, I ask the same question again. Do you remember anything about the other races?

Reilly: I do not remember very much.

Abrahamson: Now, when you came back home, did people say, "Shirley, not just Athens, but what was it like wearing red, white, and blue? What was it like being part of Team USA? Five years ago, you were skateboarding on your knees, and now you're a Paralympic finalist. What is that like, girlfriend?"

Reilly: Like I said, I'm thrilled, excited, get to be on Team USA. Never something I would take advantage of. Always a new, exciting feel-proud moment, for sure. I think it's overjoyed. I cannot believe that being at this elite level. This is where I've gotten to.

Abrahamson: When you came back home, did people start asking you to talk to school kids and stuff like that?

Reilly: I have, yes. I've done a couple small speeches in Tucson, just showing my medals and telling them about my recent events.

Abrahamson: So, when you came back, excuse me – do you go back to Arizona?

Reilly: Yes.

Abrahamson: So, you're 19. When did you graduate?

Reilly: I graduated just this May.

Abrahamson: Congratulations.

Reilly: Thank you.

Abrahamson: And what was your degree in?

Reilly: I got my degree in public management and policy.

Abrahamson: Awesome.

Reilly: Thank you.

Abrahamson: And how does that feel?

Reilly: It feels great. I've been in college for a very long time. I stretched it out, because I always wanted, because being a Paralympian, and wanting to train, and always wanting to go for the next Paralympics. I was lucky enough – I get scholarships through my native corporation, and I also get scholarships through the U of A to help me pay for school so that I was able to stretch it out a long time.

Abrahamson: Did you take one or two classes at a time?

Reilly: Yeah, took a few classes at a time, yes.

Abrahamson: So, you displayed resoluteness and stick-to-it-iveness to the nth degree.

Reilly: There was a couple years I took some time off so I could focus on training.

Abrahamson: And the university was always very good about it?

Reilly: Yes. It was very good. I was able to take some side classes –

And just keep it really low key because I can focus on training.

Abrahamson: Can you compare – dumb question, but I specialize in dumb questions – can you compare winning a Paralympic medal with earning your college degree?

Reilly: Yeah. My goal was always to graduate, and I always wanted to graduate, and get my degree. So, I know eventually that my racing career would not completely go on, and I have something to say, "Yes, this is my degree." I've always wanted to graduate from the University of Arizona because it was my dream since high school."

Abrahamson: You can high five your dad.

Reilly: They are very proud, and my family's very proud, very excited about everything.

Abrahamson: Awesome. When you came back from Athens, what was next?

Reilly: After Athens, I continued with school and continued to train with the University of Arizona team. And then, once again, I stretched that out. I am going for Beijing. I also got a new coach. We had different coaches switch at the University of Arizona. There was Pete Hughes, who was the coach at the time when Beijing was starting to come around. He actually didn't know much about the sport when he took up the job because he used to be the wheelchair men's and women's basketball coach. And then, he wanted to switch it up, and Derek Brown wanted to just focus on basketball.

And Coach Pete, he said, "I want to be the track coach," but he admitted he didn't know much about it. So, he took in Wendy Gumbert, Saul Mendoza's wife. And then, he brought her in, and told her, "I don't know much about this sport. Can you please teach me about this sport?" So, she taught him everything she knew. So, they came and did a little training camp, and then, Peter Hughes was able to let me side coach with Wendy Gumbert, and that was when things really – that's when I switched to longer distance in that time.

Abrahamson: I was going to say, because right after Athens is about when you started doing marathons. I'm going to ask one or two more questions, and then I'm going to take a break, because we've been going on, believe it or not, for almost an hour here. When you switched, was it a realization on your part, on your coach's part, a mutual decision, or how was this segue made?

Reilly: My coach –

Abrahamson: Because you came in second in the LA Marathon in 2005. I don't know whether that was a, "Oh, I'm good at this." Do I try it and see whether I'm good, or "Oops, I'm good at this. Maybe this is the right path"?

Reilly: Right, that's exactly what happened. I said, "Oops, let's just give it a try, see how you do. You might be pretty good at this. I think you're better at this than a lot better." I think just Wendy Gumbert, having her background and distance racing with Saul was a very good transition for me.

Abrahamson: Let's talk about the LA Marathon, and then let's take a break. So, set me up for the 2005 LA Marathon. Had you ever done a marathon before?

Reilly: I have. My first marathon I did when I was – I think it was in 2002 or 2001. I did the Silicon Valley Marathon. And I did that in 2 hour and 29 minutes, or something. I had just made – 2 hours and 15 minutes. I think I just cut off to qualify for world championships for the marathon.

And that was the first marathon that I did when I was – I believe I was 19, 18, 19.

Abrahamson: There's a big difference from that –

Reilly: I know –

Abrahamson: To finishing second in a world class marathon.

Reilly: Yeah. It's funny, because I believe I did my first marathon, Silicon Valley Marathon, but I can't remember if I was 17 or 19, but it was roughly around that time, and I hated it, and I was like, "Wow, this was really hard."

Abrahamson: No kidding.

Reilly: It was a complete shock. I didn't train properly for it. My coach, me and my coach were experiencing – how to train for this, because I've never trained on the road until I moved to Arizona. So, all my workouts were on the track. I would train for this marathon. I would do half-marathons on the track, and it was crazy. It was absolutely crazy.

Abrahamson: You'd do 52 laps on the track?

Reilly: I did. It was very long.

Abrahamson: Were you listening to music at least, or something?

Reilly: No. I always needed, because there was always people on the track, and I needed to be aware, and I needed people, if someone's going to shout at me, or somebody's going to be in the way, I need to just hear and be aware, and I can yell at them.

Abrahamson: That's fascinating. Were you on the inside lane or the outside lane?

Reilly: I was on the inside lane, but if people started to come, I would move on the outside lanes. I think I only did it twice, two half-marathons on the track, and training for Silicon Valley Marathon.

Abrahamson: What time of day were you doing this?

Reilly: I was doing this after school, so I did it at night.

Abrahamson: Do you realize the insanity of what you're saying here? You trained for a marathon on the track?

Reilly: My coach at the time, like I said, we did not train on the road. We didn't know a safe place to train. We always just trained on the track.

And I always did just what he said to do.

Abrahamson: Silly, but dumb question, did you understand how to push the correct way? Were you grabbing or were you pushing on the wheels?

Reilly: Yeah, so what we have is we just have, at the time, they were just regular, the gloves, they are called harness gloves, and they are soft gloves is what we call them now, and they just strap together. What you do is you hit the piston so there's no grabbing.

Abrahamson: But did you understand that at the time?

Reilly: Yes. Because I started the sport when I was 10 years old. I tried it out when I was 10. And then, I got better.

Abrahamson: When you were going around the track for a half-marathon, were you timing yourself?

Reilly: My coach was counting the laps.

Abrahamson: Sorry for laughing. Did your time seem competitive?

Reilly: No. It was very hard for me, because one, I've never done it – that many laps before, and it was – we knew we had to do something to get the miles in, and because we didn't turn down the road, this is the way to get the miles in, the endurance training.

Abrahamson: A joke that I use all the time is sportswriter math is really not very good. But 13.1 miles is only half of a marathon distance. So, if you'd done a half-marathon, you still had another half to go. How did you feel after doing half a marathon on the track?

Reilly: It was very tiring. I think I took a few days off after that.

Abrahamson: Another bit of sportswriter math, watch me here. So, the Paralympics were in the fall in 2004? And the Los Angeles Marathon is always in the spring. So, you had six months to get ready for the Los Angeles Marathon, right?

Reilly: What year is this?

Abrahamson: 2005.

Reilly: Yeah. Like I said, I was already down in – because I graduated in 2003, so I was already in Arizona by the time I did the LA Marathon. So, I was training with the rest of the University of Arizona track team at that time. But my first marathon, I think when I was 17. It had to be when I was 17 or 18. I was doing that half- marathon on the track to do the Silicon Valley Marathon.

Abrahamson: What were your expectations when you were on the start line at the Los Angeles Marathon?

Reilly: Finish the marathon. Finish it, and see how you do, and good luck, and it was raining that day. I was cold, and I remember Candace Cable was at the start line with me, and she was trying to settle me down with my nerves. And she said, "I hope – you'll do just fine." I said, "OK." "Well, have fun." And I remember the experiencing the same thing. I remember crossing that finish line, and I'm like, "Wow, I did it. I finished the marathon." And then, I remember my mom was there, and she was so excited, because she runs up to me, and she's like, "You qualified." And I'm like, "What do you mean?" She's like, "You qualified for the bare minimum standard to do world championships."

I just finished the marathon, I'm like, "What are you talking about? That wasn't our goal." I was like, "I don't know if I'm ever going to do a marathon again." The stress, I did not train properly for that, but I was 17 years old. We're experiencing how to train for a marathon was something I'll never forget.

Abrahamson: Do you remember, and then, really, we're going to take a break here in a sec. Do you remember anything else about the race? The rain, the course?

Reilly: I remember the rain, and I remember it was very tough, and it was very cold. And, I kept thinking to myself, "One more mile, you got this. You hang on. You are almost there." And then, so, for me, it was a very motivating factor, because my body was shutting down, but my mind was, "Keep going, you got this."

Abrahamson: This is what I was talking about before. Shirley, some people are just more mentally tough than others. How do you find this way?

Reilly: I really wanted to finish it. I'm like, "I'm going to finish this marathon, I started it. There's no quitting. The show must go on. I have family waiting for me, and my coach." And my body is shutting down. But I kept saying, "I can do this. This is not something I can't do."

Abrahamson: Awesome. Let's take a break.

Reilly: Thank you.

Abrahamson: Ready to go? And we are back on. It's 9:30 a.m. So, you are the runner-up in 2005 at the Los Angeles Marathon. Now, we skip forward to 2006, and I know what happened that year. You run the race. So, when you finish second in 2005, your mom says, "You qualify." And guess what, I'm guessing to myself, you said to yourself, "Second is not as good as first."

Reilly: Yes.

Abrahamson: What did you say to yourself when you went home?

Reilly: To me, it's always, like I said, every race that I look at, I always try and see if I can do better next year, and see where I fall against the next competitor. I'm always trying to – everyone wants to win, and everyone wants to try and get to that spot, and if I didn't get that win, that's always my goal.

Abrahamson: And what did you take away from that race? How could you have done better?

Reilly: I don't remember that race very much, to be honest.

Abrahamson: Let me ask a better question. Not the race, how could Shirley have performed better? Not the elements, not the race, how could your performance have done better, just as an athlete herself?

Reilly: Honestly, I think what I did that day was the best that I could do, and it was a learning experience, because I hadn't done marathons before. And so for me, it

was probably my second marathon that I've ever done. And really, it being my first LA Marathon, I had to learn the course, and just really learn how I line up with competitors, things like that.

So, for me, again, it was a learning experience, learning in so many different factors, especially in the marathon. You always have got to know –

The course, you've got to know your competitors, and weather always plays a part in it, too, as well.

Abrahamson: By the time you came back to Los Angeles, if memory serves, I think you raced Boston, as well, in 2005, did you not?

Reilly: I have to look back.

Abrahamson: You started becoming a regular on, for lack of a better word, the circuit. I read a really, really, really interesting article – I don't know if you are a football fan or not.

Reilly: I am a football fan.

Abrahamson: Here in Los Angeles, the Rams just played the most boring Super Bowl ever, and lost to the Patriots, and Sean McVay, who's the Rams coach, said, "I got outcoached." The value to him of the game was the experience of getting outcoached by Bill Belichick. There's no question that Sean McVay is an excellent football coach –

I'm highly confident that Sean McVay will be a much better football coach next year, because he learned a lot from the experience of getting his backside whipped by the master in this game.

So, to take this to you in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, moving forward, what you're doing at this point in your life is gaining experience in these races. Right?

Reilly: Right.

Abrahamson: Your first real marathon was Los Angeles, and you finished second. Now, you start gaining experience, what is that process like, long build up to a short question. What's the process like in incremental but invaluable ways of learning how to race at a championship level?

Reilly: It's a learning process, because you have to learn how to run with fatigue, with your body, you have to run with your competitors, where you fall with them. You have to learn the course, how to maneuver your chair. There['re] so many different obstacles, trying to – being aware of your surroundings, as far as where you are in the race, and making sure that – and eating properly is another thing, hydrating. I

think you have to be hydrated, you have to eat a certain – I learned that the hard way many times, just running through this marathon, and making sure you eat enough carbs, making sure you're hydrated enough, and really just – the whole thing was a shock, obviously, because I've never won a second marathon, two, it was I didn't know how I was going to line up with the rest of the athletes.

And the course itself, you can't memorize a whole course. And so, going through that was like, "This is how the course is. Next time, now I know this is how – and it's key in our sport. It's key to know which is going to be a sharp turn. Which is going to be a long downhill where you make sure you don't crash, and you're at full control of your chair." That's a big thing with Boston, as well.

And just things like that, I think really opened my eyes to seeing, and just finding out, "Wow, I really have the strength and endurance to be able to do a marathon, and be fairly good at it."

Abrahamson: First, the wow moment. Do you remember that wow moment?

Reilly: I do remember that wow moment, because I remember – usually, just the fatigue and the pain that you go through during a marathon, and the fact that – When you cross that finish line, it's – every time I finished a marathon, I always feel so accomplished during that marathon, no matter what.

Abrahamson: Can you put that into words?

Reilly: No matter if you come in fifth or first, it's always amazing.

Abrahamson: Is it amazing, the sense of personal satisfaction, personal accomplishment, is it a sense of joy? What words do you think you might use to try to describe it? You've done this, I haven't.

Reilly: I would say it's just a personal accomplishment, every time you get that feeling, just "I'm going to find – " it's an amazing feeling, because you just get that adrenaline rush, and you can't believe that you just finished it. because a lot of people can't. I think I read somewhere that there's only one – person out in the world that's ever done a marathon in their lifetime. But this was maybe eight years ago, 10 years ago that I read that. But that's amazing to me, because I feel like every time I do a marathon, there's hundreds and thousands of people that do it. It's an amazing accomplishment. I feel like that satisfaction of finishing a marathon, what your body can do to go through that stress.

Abrahamson: When you – how fast on a downhill section of the Boston Marathon do you think you're going?

Reilly: We can get up to about 30 – I would say 30 miles an hour, for women. Men probably go a little bit faster, because they are a little bit heavier.

Abrahamson: Never mind the men – do you ever feel fear?

Reilly: A little bit, yeah. Because your chair starts to get a little wobbly, so you get a little – you're not stable. You're not fully in control.

Abrahamson: Does it feel fun or does it feel scary?

Reilly: It's fun. Like I said, I love going fast, but when you start feeling your chair shake a little bit, you get a little scared, because you're going to – if you hit a rock, or any little curb, little uneven surface, you're just going to go flying out of your chair, and you go crash.

Abrahamson: My guess, and this is a question, not a statement, my guess is that that's the little girl on the skateboard, though.

Reilly: Yes, definitely. That's really what got me so excited into wheelchair racing is "Wow, I can go really fast like I did in my skateboard."

Abrahamson: Are there times in the middle of a marathon where you're like, "Rock on, Shirley. This is awesome."

Reilly: It is, definitely. I definitely feel that way, because you feel like you're in synch. When you finally train right, and eat right, and everything comes together on that race day, it doesn't feel quite as daunting. It's always hard and challenging as it was, because –I remember that first girl that did that Silicon Valley Marathon that was in terrible pain, and couldn't believe she actually finished the marathon.

Abrahamson: Which do you like better? The competition or the sense of accomplishment?

Reilly: I like both. I couldn't tell you which one, because it's always different on different days.

Abrahamson: Do you feel like you're competing with yourself, or competing with the other women in the race?

Reilly: It all depends on where I'm at. Like I said, I love competing with myself if there's not very many girls there, or when I'm in my younger days, it was always me and a certain time I wanted to get better at. I got more to the higher, elite status, I was able to – it was definitely me against the other girls.

Abrahamson: What conversations did you have with your support system in which you said to all of you – "Yeah, sprinting, whatever, but really, my future is here in these longer distances." Because you're second Paralympic appearance, I believe, involves some sprinting, as well. Did it not?

Reilly: In Beijing, with my second Paralympics, I did –

Abrahamson: I think it was 15[00]– not really sprinting, but Beijing.

Reilly: I did the 15[00], and the 5[00], yeah. No, I didn't do the 15[00]. I did the 5,000 and I did the marathon. And it was amazing. I remembered the marathon very clearly, because we were so excited, because I actually ran a personal best time – I never ran an hour and – I think it was an hour and 40 minutes marathon. It was in a really fast marathon. I've never done that before. I think my fastest marathon before that was an hour and 55 minutes, or an hour and 50 minutes. So, I broke – like all 10 of us girls – or 12 girls, broke, ran a 1:40 marathon at the time, which really, really fast. That girls didn't run that fast yet. So, that was an amazing experience, because I remember me and Wendy were like, "Oh my God, we did it." And I was in the pack the whole time. That was very unexpected, too. We didn't know how I was going to line up with the other girls, but the fact that I was in so much pain, and that she didn't put a lot of pressure on me to do well. She was very much just let's go out, see how you do, have a good time, hang in the pack, do what you can, take one mile at a time, and it worked out really well.

Abrahamson: What are your memories of the Beijing experience?

Reilly: My Beijing experience, I remember the Opening Ceremony was phenomenal. It was outstanding. They put on a show like no other. Have you seen the dancing – And it was so in synch. It was amazing. I was so happy I was able to go to that opening ceremony. There was only one opening ceremony I didn't go to, which was in London. Because I had my 5,000 the next morning, and I really wanted to be rested and I really wanted – that's when I had the big pressure of "I know I'm at the top of my game, I know where I stand with my times, and we're going to do this."

Abrahamson: Do you have any memory of – I realize when you're competing, the camera can't see me putting my hands up to the side of my face to indicate tunnel vision like this. When you were racing in Beijing in part of the pack, do you have any memory of seeing the sights, of seeing the Forbidden City, or wheeling through the city of Beijing, which come on, let's face it, if you go to Beijing, how many times in your life are you going to go to Beijing? One, two, three? Here you are.

Reilly: In the marathon, I was very focused. When you're in the zone, at least for me, I'm not looking outside. I don't notice anything. I don't notice people. It's me and the competitors in front of me, and that's it. So, unfortunately, I don't remember anything. I did have one day off where I got to go to – I got to go to the Great Wall, and that was really fun.

Abrahamson: What was that like for you?

Reilly: That was so exciting, because I went with a group of athletes, and we were very

excited. We got to go up a little bit, and it was just amazing to see. It was such a nice day, and we didn't get to go up very much, because of course, it's not very accessible.

Abrahamson: No, it's not very accessible.

Reilly: But the fact that we were able to go up a little bit on there was absolutely amazing. It was so phenomenal. We had the greatest time. We had good weather, and the fact to be able to go out, and see history was amazing.

Abrahamson: In moments like that, do you reflect upon where track and field has taken you?

Reilly: Yeah, I appreciate it, because I always tell everybody, without track and field, I wouldn't have traveled the world, and seen these wonderful history places, and I'm really, really lucky.

Abrahamson: People always say to me I've been very lucky. I've gotten to cover 10 editions of the Olympic Games. They are like, what's your favorite sport, or what's your favorite memory? I'm like, "I don't know." Do you have a favorite place that you've been?

Reilly: I think London has a special place in my heart.

Abrahamson: We're going to get there in a sec. Three medals, for sure.

Reilly: London, like I said, my favorite place. The way they treat people, and the way the town, it's so into it, it makes it that much more special to me, I thought, because they were just so lively, and so excited to be a part of being there, and just the way they treat athletes, the way they publicize them, the way we're on TVs, the way all the kids – sold-out stadiums. It's a wild memory.

Abrahamson: You made this transition, so let's just go right to London here. I don't know whether I want to –

Go to London. I'm thinking out loud here, sorry. I don't know whether I want to do London or the Boston Marathon first, because the Boston Marathon is time-wise, ahead of London.

Reilly: Was right before London, yes.

Abrahamson: Let's do Boston first. 2012 was a pretty gosh darn good year for you, right?

Reilly: Yep.

Abrahamson: So, that year, you're in your athletic prime, age-wise, 26, 27 years old?

Reilly: I was 26 years old, I believe, yeah.

Abrahamson: Did you know it?

Reilly: Did I know –

Abrahamson: Did you know you were rock-'n-rolling that year?

Reilly: I did know I was rock-'n-rolling.

Abrahamson: And how did you know that?

Reilly: My times, the way I was progressing in 2011, I was starting to see fast results when I was training.

Abrahamson: What did that feel like, Shirley? Because you talked about being in the zone, and every athlete has talked about being in the zone, but what did it feel like?

Reilly: To be in the zone? It's nice, because you're so focused, and you don't realize how fast things are going, and it's, in that moment, when you're in the zone, you don't think about anything else, except for what you're particularly doing in that moment. And it's a wow moment, because even for London, even though I knew I was at my prime, every single time when I was in the zone, even though there was 70,000 people in the stadium in London, it was like, I couldn't hear them.

Abrahamson: I want to get to this. The marathon's actually, obviously, out on the roads.

Reilly: But Boston, I don't know if you want to talk about –

Abrahamson: So, Boston. You're now the winner of the Boston Marathon, and you're a Paralympic gold medalist. Take me through the Boston Marathon in 2012.

Reilly: Boston was super – Obviously, amazing. When I got there, I remember my fiancé Sean was with me, and my parents, and – [becomes emotional].

Abrahamson: It's really OK.

Reilly: Thank you. So, basically, when Boston happened, I knew I was at my prime, and – but not winning, though, I – I didn't have, I didn't know at the time the mentality that I was going to – sorry.

Abrahamson: It's really OK.

Reilly: When I got there, I was super excited, because one, I knew I was going to do really well. Winning is a whole other story.

Abrahamson: How fun is that going into the race, knowing you were going to do really well?

Reilly: I was excited. I didn't think – my goal was to come in top three. That was my goal. And if I came in top four, I would've been OK. But I had – I called my parents. I remember, I told them, I said, "You've got to come. I'm going to do really well." It was – sorry – and they are like, "OK, we'll come." I remember my sister, too, she was – and my brother-in-law, they came up, and they were very excited. I was very excited for them to come, and of course, my fiancé came.

And he was my main training partner, so he's the one that really got me to where I was at. And like I said, he was in his hand cycle, and I was in my racing chair, and we would – in synch. We trained hard every day, and it was just weird, because everything came together. Once he got on that hand cycle, and once I was – just got behind that hand cycle and worked my butt hard to sustain that fast, just like any kind of – when you watch NASCAR driving or whatever, and they are always going back and forth, it's the same thing with racing, and that's really key to how I got to be top six, top eight, to top two, three, four. It's really what took me to the next level, is having that hand cycle, having that consistent training to really take it to the next level of speed that I needed to be at.

Abrahamson: If I may, what really took you to the next level was a love story.

Reilly: Pretty much.

Abrahamson: I admire your courage here in allowing yourself to cry, but really took you to the next level was the love story, and having him really, really, really believe in you.

Reilly: Yeah.

Abrahamson: Right?

Reilly: I remember on the race morning it's so funny because – it was ironic because Arizona is very hot, and that day Boston happened to have a record heat. I felt terrible, because there was a lot of people during that race that passed out, and had to pull out of the race, because it was too hard. It was record heat for Boston at that time of the year.

And yeah, I just remember it was super, super hot, and I guess I could walk you through how the race actually went. I had my family there, I was super excited. My nerves were going, and I remember Sean was the one that said, "You can do this. You're going to win." And I didn't believe him. Sorry. And so, what happened was, and I said, "OK, we'll see. I remember telling him that – "

And I said, "I'm not going to put pressure on myself. You have the course record- holder here. I was more than seven minutes behind her the year before," and it was really hard, because I remember this is the course record-holder. There's no

way I'm going to be able to stay with her. I was seven minutes behind her, me and Christina Ripp, actually, the year before, we almost tied second. I beat her at the line by not much.

And I just remember him saying, "We don't work this hard for second." He used to always say that. When that happened, throughout the race, was very exciting, actually, because Wakako [Tsuchida] was her name. She took off, and I didn't catch her until about mile 10 or 12. She was way out of sight and I just kept going, and kept my head down. I had no idea where she was in sight, and all of a sudden, I keep – mile 10 or 12, I go, "Wait, I know who that is. I can't believe she's here. Did she get a flat?" So many scenarios were going in my head, like, "What happened to her? Did she crash? Did she get a flat? How is she right there?"

And my plan had just worked out just fine. I was holding a certain pace, and man, we were flying that year. We had the wind to our back, super hot, and then I caught Wakako, and we worked together the rest of the race, back and forth, drafting, taking turns pulling, and then it was a matter of who had a better spring at the finish. And that's how –

Abrahamson: And what did Sean say to you at the end?

Reilly: He goes, "I told you, you can do it."

Abrahamson: How did that feel?

Reilly: It was amazing. As you can tell. It was a really special moment.

Abrahamson: And just to carry on from the love story here. I think this love story is what carried you through London, yeah?

Reilly: Yeah, he'd definitely been my rock. The one that guided me, and the one that tutored me a lot of good stuff. He's the one that believed in me more than anybody. And yeah, it was really a special moment to share.

Abrahamson: Awesome. You hear about people saying, "He completes me, or I complete him." Do you feel that way about Sean?

Reilly: I didn't hear what you said.

Abrahamson: He completes me or –

Reilly: He definitely does. He's obviously my rock. He's the one that coaches me. If we talk about basically how Boston turned out, it was leading into London. There was all this hype, and I remember getting interviewed by the local newspaper before I was going, just to head out to London, and they kept saying, "How are you going to do in London? What do you think you're going to do?" And I told them, I said, "I

think I should do pretty well. I'm going to be going for the 4[00], 8[00],15[00], 5[000] and marathon, I have a full schedule. I think my best advantage will be in the 4[00] and the 8[00]."

And Sean was there, of course, and they go, "What do you think she'll do?" And he goes, "I think she'll have a good shot in the marathon and the 5,000." I'm like, 'Of course he knows which ones are going to be the ones that I medal in." I said, "My goal, I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself, because I've never been – ranked this high with the fastest. I knew I could do well, but I didn't want to be – I have to get a gold. I have to get a bronze. I have to get a silver." I just wanted to go there, and my goal was to come back with at least one medal, that was my goal. And then, of course, then she gets the gold medal, on the last day, which was obviously my most wow moment when I went to London and got to do all those events.

Abrahamson: Hold it up again. Show – you've had this medal now for six plus years.

Reilly: I have, yes.

Abrahamson: Does it feel – Better now than then or the same?

Reilly: It does. It brings back a lot of great memories. It's been a long time, because of course, Rio came along, and I got a medal there. And I just realized how lucky I am, and how much time goes by so fast, and you have to appreciate every single moment that happens when they do come upon that time.

Abrahamson: Take me through the London marathon, because again, you were for sure one of the three top favorites, and the – you won a gold, a silver, and a bronze in three different events in London. Let's go through the two track events first. The thing I'm interested in is after 52 laps on the track in training and stuff like that, you were for sure used to going around the track. But the London Paralympics were a watershed moment for the movement.

Reilly: Definitely.

Abrahamson: So, two questions in either order. One, the races themselves, or two, you talked about the welcoming feeling that the English crowds, the British crowds, had for Paralympic athletes as, if you will, normalizing the Paralympic experience, either way.

Reilly: Like I said, the Paralympic, that London is absolutely a watershed, because everyone was into it, the whole town, not just – the way they put on the show, they must have done great publicity on TVs, on newspapers, all these kids, sold out stadiums every single day, 70,000 people, and they were so into it. It was nothing like I've ever experienced before. You couldn't even go outside.

I remember trying to meet my parents for lunch, trying to meet them to go have lunch at the – they had a mall right next to the stadium, just to have a little bite of lunch after one of my races. It was one of my semi-finals, and I was swarmed with people, because I didn't even have medals on. I just had my USA gear, just finishing a race. And they just, they wanted my autograph. They swarmed me, and I couldn't get around. I've never experienced anything like that before.

Abrahamson: How did it feel to be a rock star?

Reilly: I was overwhelmed. I was in awe. I couldn't believe people wanted to see me, and take my autograph, and take pictures. They were so, so excited to be a part of that.

Abrahamson: Do you realize that 12 years earlier, you had been watching this, this Sydney Paralympics on TV, and now you were legitimately a rock star at the Paralympics in London?

Reilly: I was in awe. Looking back, I cannot believe all of that had happened, and the way that people were so excited to wanting to be there, to see the athletes, and be a part of it, and just take your picture, and they were – it's what I'm really hoping that will happen here in LA. I really hope that happens for the next Olympics.

Abrahamson: I'll get there in a sec, thank you for that. Do you have any memory of coming out from the tunnel onto the track and hearing the roar?

Reilly: Yes, and I remember the crowd, once they got to the Great Britain, it was like, they were just roar – it was nothing else I've ever experienced.

Abrahamson: Were you intimidated?

Reilly: I wasn't intimidated, because I was in my zone. I felt like I knew who I was as an athlete, and I was confident for once. I usually am not very confident going into my races. Yeah, I know. Something I still struggle with as an athlete. I don't feel comfortable until I hit that first race and see how things fall apart for me. But this time, I was very confident in each and every race that I did.

Although, my first race, it was a semi-final in the 5,000 in London, and I crashed. Oh, yeah, I crashed, and one of the Chinese athletes had hit me. I fell out of my chair. She knocked her chair over, it was destroyed, and luckily, mine wasn't. And I had fell inside the track. Luckily, not hurting anybody else. And I had to jump out, because I was strapped in my chair, had to unstrap me, pull my chair up. I didn't strap myself back in, because I was so worried about qualifying for finals that I just jumped in my chair, I was very lopsided, because I didn't get all my padding and stuff fixed, and I qualified for the final in the 5,000. I was very excited about that. So, that was a very wow moment for me, too.

It's funny, because my parents hadn't come down yet to watch me. They couldn't take that much time off work. But they were watching it on TV, and they were like, "Oh, no, oh my god, she crashed." But luckily, I finished, and qualified for the finals, and we finished faster than the second heat. I finished faster than the whole second heat of the next round. I was amazed that I had qualified and made it into the final.

Abrahamson: Maybe this confidence thing, maybe this is one of the reasons why these longer distances are better for you. You just need to get going, and –

Reilly: No – we had a faster heat, so they were definitely, there was no messing around in my heat. These girls were not playing games. They wanted to go out fast and set the pace – And that's exactly what happened.

Abrahamson: The London marathon, you're the London Paralympic champion, what do you remember of the race?

Reilly: Man, I remember, again, it was another heatwave in London, that there were people were dropping out. It was a record heat that day in London, and people, there was about three girls, I think, pulled out of that marathon, because they couldn't handle the heat. And it was – I remember, for me, it was not very hot, so it was to my advantage.

And I remember we had a plan. I didn't have any expectations going into London. I was very secure where I was at with my two medals. I didn't have any pressure of I want to go to gold. I was like, "Whatever happens in this phase, I'll be really happy with whatever happens."

Abrahamson: Because you already had the two medals.

Reilly: Right. I've already achieved what I wanted to do when I first got there.

Abrahamson: You could just race free and easy.

Reilly: Right, I felt no pressure, none.

Abrahamson: Over the last – so, this is 2012. Thinking back to 2005, by then you had, whether you count seven or eight years, you'd had seven or eight years of major marathon experience. Would you say that in a weird, backwards way, here you are at the Olympic marathon, was this maybe the first race you'd ever raced, except for maybe the Silicon Valley Marathon, where perversely, you had no pressure?

Reilly: Yes. I think that's what really helped me do really well in the London marathon was that I did not feel any pressure whatsoever. I had pressures of expectation of myself as far as I'd like to do well, but if things didn't turn out the way I wanted to – That's OK, things happen in a race. And the fact that I was able to win it was icing

on the cake, pretty much. It was really – I was in very much shock, because it was so freeing to know that I didn't feel any pressure to how I was going to perform.

Abrahamson: You just had fun.

Reilly: I did have fun, yes. And I think that was key for me, too, because when my parents did come to London, athletes always talk about the stresses they have to worry about with their family, seeing them, making sure they are OK, worried about them, the distractions that they have with family. And this was the first Olympics that my parents actually were able to attend, and my grandmother and my aunt actually came, too, so that was really nice.

Sean did a really good job of distracting them, and making sure that I was focused, and not have to worry about them. And making sure there's only positive thoughts, and not negative thoughts. Whatever happens with family, whatever they talk about, that can be a little bit of a distraction.

Abrahamson: But they were all there?

Reilly: My sister wasn't there and my brothers, but my parents, and my aunt, and my grandmother, and Sean was there.

Abrahamson: When you won, can you put into words what it was like to be able to share that moment with your family?

Reilly: It was very exciting. I remember my coach was there, and I just – I was in shock. It's funny, because I'm not the type of person that likes to cry, and so, when I won, and I saw them, everybody was super excited. I remember going up to the podium, and I remember I just didn't want to look at them because I knew if I did, I'd start crying.

A couple of my teammates, when I went back to the Village, they go, "What is wrong with you? Why didn't you cry when you got your medal?" And I said, "I didn't want to cry. There's going to be pictures, and I'm very excited, but I didn't want to cry." It's so funny, because they are like, "You have no heart. I can't believe you didn't cry." And I'm just laughing at them, I said, "No, I'm super excited. I'm very – I will always appreciate this moment, but to have my mom and my – " It's funny, because my grandmother and my aunt were at the hotel. They didn't get tickets, we didn't have enough tickets to get them to go see the marathon, and then my dad had to fly back to work that day, so he didn't even know. My sister had called him, and she goes, "Oh my god, Shirley won the gold medal." And so, that was really funny. But it was really amazing. I didn't want to cry, so I didn't look at them until after I was done at the podium, and –

Abrahamson: Did you cry then?

Reilly: I did cry then, after I got off. because then I couldn't not avoid them. Of course, I saw them, and hugged them, and was very excited.

Abrahamson: How was the Rio experience different than the London experience?

Reilly: The Rio was very – that was exciting –

Abrahamson: Want to show off here?

Reilly: This one, this bronze medal that I got in Rio was very, very exciting, the 800 meter.

Abrahamson: Want to shake it?

Reilly: Oh, and it makes noise.

Abrahamson: I know.

Reilly: I can't hear it, but you guys can. I can feel it, and so my hearing loss came with – I know I'm going a little bit backwards here, but my hearing loss came, we think, when I was premature – when I was suffocating, that's probably when I lost all my hearing.

This one is my bronze medal from Rio in my 800 meter, yep, in T53 class. This was very exciting. What makes this medal very special to me is we all ran, the top three girls, all ran under the world record. We ran an incredibly fast time. And that was in itself amazing, and like I said, we were all together, really, really fast, and I did put some pressure on myself this time, because I had already run the 400 meter, and I qualified into the final, but I didn't medal, but I consider that one of my weaker events, just because my starts weren't the best. But when I got this, this was really, really special to me, because, like I said we were all under the world record, we ran at a world record pace, and it was so fast.

It was great to be a part of that, being – to be able to say after this many years, I didn't know exactly where I was going to stand in Rio, and I had to find it in me, I remember that day of the race, I said, "I need to find whatever it is in me to hang on into this race, be in the pack, do whatever you can to stay in there." And it worked out.

Abrahamson: We've talked about London being a watershed, and you've lived the life of accomplishment and achievement. Let's say – the Paralympics are going to be here in 2028.

The young woman who competes in those Paralympics, excuse me, the 27-year- old in those Olympics is now 17 or 18 now. What do you say to that young woman?

Reilly: Don't give up. Don't give up. It might take you – it's funny, because a lot of people, they might do an Olympics, and they say, "Well, that's it for me," but I feel like you always have to have fun while you're doing it.

Have fun, work hard, never give up on your dreams, because they are always achievable. There's nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it. And for me, it was always wanted that medal, always wanted that experience, but the experience to me has always been the wonderful friends that I've made. This will always be really nice, but the friendships you make, and the places you visit, and the whole experience that you get to go through is more important than anything, but never give up, and I don't think anything is impossible because you can achieve anything you put your mind to. You can achieve anything.

Excuse me. As you can see, it took me many years to get medals. I've put a lot of time, obviously, and the fact that it's nice to say that I have a medal, but I know a lot of people, after four years, would say, "Maybe I'm not that athlete but you are." If you believe in yourself, you can do it.

And you get the right support system – I've had a lot of great support system. I think definitely to help you reach your goals, and I think that's very important. I always feel like a medal isn't just from one person. It's from your team that helps you get there. I have a great support system from the [unintelligible] who's able to fund me through my schooling, and through traveling races. Even the big marathons itself, London, they are very accommodating, helping you pay to go out, and be a part of the wonderful race, and of course, Sean, and – U.S. Paralympics have also helped me a lot, as far as requiring funding and things like that, which have been a huge, huge support for me.

Abrahamson: One more question, or two, actually. How do you spell Sean's last name?

Reilly: Eres, E-R-E-S.

Abrahamson: Looking back on it, what would you tell – you answered this in so many beautiful ways, but what would you tell 14-year-old Shirley?

Reilly: I would say, "Don't give up, keep going. You got this. And enjoy the journey," because I know I'm really lucky to travel the world, and really proud to say that I'm part of Team USA. And if you find the right support system, keep working hard, there's nothing you can't achieve," and things like that definitely happened for me.

Abrahamson: I want to thank you, you've been amazing.

Reilly: Thank you. Sorry, I keep getting very emotional about this.

Abrahamson: I want to thank you for being so forthcoming and –

Reilly: Yeah, no, definitely, you've made me feel very comfortable. It's just talking about all this brings out a lot of memories, and –

Abrahamson: The memories are great. Thank you.

Reilly: Thank you. Where I think that we'll be going.

Abrahamson: You want to say something? I'll turn it back on. Rolling. A couple more questions – About 2028 and where we think we're going to be. The floor's all yours.

Reilly: I really hope that it's going to be as great as London. That would just be my ultimate dream. I think we're going to need to push the media. We need to make sure that the things that stand out to me was that we did a really good job of having the media educate everyone about what we're doing and being really aware of what is going on, because there was not a single person there that did not know what was happening at that time.

And they were excited about it, and find ways to make it very exciting. And I think I really, really hope that one to two, we are on the cover on the top of the TV, not just on –

Nighttime special, 9:00 p.m. one-hour special with everybody. It needs to be all the time, live, not just live stream on the internet. It needs to be – we need to have more interviews, we need to have more media, we need to be on billboards. I think the more we publicize everything, everything will be so much greater, because everybody will know about it, and everybody will come, and be a part of that.

Abrahamson: I think that's what London did, to use the word, and you can correct me if this is the wrong word. I think London normalized the experience, and I think Los Angeles is poised to amplify the normalization of the experience.

Reilly: Exactly.

Abrahamson: So – You've been able to make a living at this?

Reilly: I did, just because I'm working right now, I haven't been able to do – I've been very – I've been injured the last couple years, and now I'm working full time, so I'm not able to make a living off of this like I used to a few years ago.

Abrahamson: Again, the more – one of the reasons we wanted to do this project was to normalize the experience, so the more normal these stories are, and excuse me – the more we tell the stories, the more we – Help normalize all of this.

Reilly: Right.

Abrahamson: So, we have 10 years to tell the stories.

Reilly: I need to work on that. I'd like to see that, and I think you guys are doing a great job. I think it is becoming more normal, in a sense. I do think we have a lot of work to do, but I do think that's important in having a successful Paralympics. Having that support, having that recognition, and people just knowing about it, really would help bring the Paralympics alive.

Abrahamson: It starts, as you said, with media recognition of the many super interesting issues – And full stadiums would be awesome. I don't even know what the media landscape is going to look like, come 2028. Who knows whether we're going to see the Olympics on Amazon or Netflix, or whatever. Well, they'll be on NBC.

Reilly: And NBC did a great job. I just feel like it needs to be more than just a one-time special. Paralympics has so many different sports, and to cover the US in one setting of an hour is not enough. It should be live, it should be a lot more. There could be a lot more done, I think.

Abrahamson: As a working sportswriter of more than 20 years, any and all ideas, gratefully accepted, seriously.

Reilly: Yep, thanks.

Abrahamson: Thanks.