From the beginning, Ted and Jen actively determined to make Brandon’s life experience as rich as possible.
“We try to make the most of every day,” Ted explains. “We keep Brandon included in everything we do, and we try not to let his disability hold him back.”
Jen notes that Brandon was always an outdoor kid, who didn’t want to be stuck in the house. “We started taking him into the swimming pool when he was a baby; as he grew, I’d go out and find active experiences for him. He tried whatever was out there!”
She recalls the many sports and activities he participated in during his youth, with his brother Dylan—just two years younger—playing alongside him and running the bases with Brandon in the chair during Miracle League Baseball games.
Then Ted began doing triathlons with him.
“We kind of stumbled into it by accident,” recalls Ted, a 21-year veteran police officer who also runs his own detection canine business. “When Brandon was young, probably around age four, he seemed uncomfortable and bored. I’m very active myself, so I took him for a run in the baby jogger, more so out of my frustration from sitting around and not being able to do anything for him. It was actually soothing for him; he really enjoyed it! He seemed to enjoy the fresh air and the movement, the stimulation from getting the breeze in his face, so that became a daily routine. We wound up doing a 5K running race together, and for the first time as a parent I actually heard him laugh!”
Being a participant in all the activity and excitement—a part of the crowd of runners—was thrilling and energizing for Brandon, and when Ted realized how much he enjoyed it, he not only continued running in 5K racing competitions with his son, but also took them to the next level:
Inspired by the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt—a father and son team who competed in marathons and triathlons together, with Dick Hoyt providing the mobility for his son with cerebral palsy—Ted stepped up his own training and began researching disabled-sports equipment.
“I saw how much enjoyment Rick Hoyt was getting from being involved in everyday activities with his father, while they were spending quality time together; I wanted to do that for my son, too.”
They flew to Atlanta, where Eagle Sports Chairs custom built a racing wheelchair for Brandon, and then signed up for the New Jersey Marathon in 2007. “We went from running a five kilometer race (3.1 miles) to a full marathon, which is 26.2 miles—and we had a blast!” says Ted.
Together, they turned in a “decent” time of four hours and nine minutes, he recalls. “From there we started doing more running races, and that evolved into doing triathlons.”
Since triathlons include swimming and biking, as well as running, Ted devised a solution for towing Brandon’s wheelchair behind his bicycle, then simply tied a rope around his waist, attached it to an inflatable raft that carried Brandon, and towed him along during the swim portion.
“Altogether, we’ve done over 50 triathlons together, including a half Iron Man triathlon. We’ve done two full marathons and 13 half marathons.
“The greatest thing about doing that,” Ted jokes, “is that you spend so much time burning calories that you can eat whatever you want and get away with it!”
Although Team Kucowski took a sabbatical from competition a few years ago, when Brandon began experiencing more frequent seizures, his parents continued to search for other outdoor activities that could include Jen and Dylan, too, in more active roles than as cheering squad.
“I thought how cool it would be if we could go hiking as a family, with everybody included to share the enjoyment,” Ted speculated.
