Ray Stelly, an athlete with cerebral palsy, inspires by pushing past challenges as he trains for the Houston Aramco Half Marathon.
HAMSHIRE, Texas — A Southeast Texas athlete living with cerebral palsy is pushing past challenges and inspiring others as he trains for a major race in Houston this January. Hamshire-Fannett native Ray Stelly, a pushrim and mobility-impaired runner, says his journey has taught him that “your biggest competition is yourself.”
Stelly, who was born with cerebral palsy, faced one of his earliest hurdles in middle school after undergoing surgery that forced him to relearn how to walk. “Walked in the operation, rolled out, end up having to spend the next 3.5 years learning how to re-walk again,” he said. “And since then it’s been from powerlifting to marathons.”
What began as a challenge grew into a passion for racing and personal growth. Stelly competes in events ranging from 5Ks to half marathons, and says he discovered early on that his mindset would define his progress. “I am my own toughest competitor,” he said. “Once I realized that, it was pretty much game on.”
Over the years, Stelly transitioned between mobility-impaired running and pushrim racing, adapting as needed while continuing to push his limits. “It was about 6 months into it that I ended up making the transition from mobility impaired running to pushrim,” he said. “And did that for about 3 years and then the last 2 years have been mobility impaired running.”
For Stelly, racing is about more than crossing the finish line, it’s a connection to his late mother. He said he thinks about stories she told him about her own track experiences in high school. “That was the first sport that I thought of whenever… whenever I want to stay close to her memory,” he said.
Despite the miles he’s covered, Stelly admits the hardest part of training often begins before he even hits the pavement. “Biggest challenge is actually just getting out the door,” he said. “It’s not gonna happen overnight.”
Stelly is now preparing for the Aramco Half Marathon in Houston this January, where he hopes to beat his personal record of four hours and nine minutes.
