When Karina Rodriguez’s daughter Samantha was diagnosed as autistic at age two, Karina was told that it was unlikely Samantha would ever be able to be involved in sport. For much of her infancy, she walked on all fours and struggled with coordination through most of her childhood.

That only makes it more remarkable when Samantha became the youngest ever autistic woman to complete the New York City Marathon in 2021, with her mum at her side.

For Karina, running started as a way to cope. As a single parent, raising an autistic daughter alone was a challenge. Pounding the pavements was a way for her to find a little bit of space to clear her head to make sure she was able to support Samantha with everything she needed.

Slowly, running began to be something more serious and Karina started taking part in competitions with Samantha, providing her cheering squad. She loved to travel with her mum and cheer her on, including when Karina took on her first marathon – the 2016 New York City Marathon. As Karina crossed the finish line, exhausted and elated, Samantha surprised her by saying, “Someday I would love to run a marathon with you.”

In the five years that followed, Samantha started taking small runs around their neighbourhood in their home city of Orlando, Florida. These small runs turned into 5k and then 10k races, gradually increasing over time until last year, at the age of just 18, Samantha finally crossed the finish line at the southern tip of New York’s Central Park hand-in-hand with her mum.

Samantha says her favourite part of running is the finish line and the medals, so she can’t wait for the chance to be part of #TeamAutistica at this year’s TCS London Marathon.

If you want to join Samantha, Karina and all of our other fabulous runners in the 2022 marathon, you can apply for one of our places by emailing us at events@autistica.org.uk or visit our London Marathon page for more information.