Alicia Kozimor found the community she’d been seeking for her 6-year-old daughter, Scout, through 2Gether We Live
For 12 straight hours inside a downtown Phoenix fitness center, Dr. Alicia Kozimor pedaled for her daughter, Scout.
The 6-year-old danced in front of the spin bikes, clutching snacks and moving to the pounding music that energized nearly 60 participants, including three from the Grand Canyon University College of Education.
Up on the stationary bikes, Scout’s mom, who is the college’s Assistant Dean, dad Tyler Kozimor, who's the Senior Academic Program Specialist, and college Dean Dr. Meredith Critchfield kept pedaling through 12 Hours of Pain & Purpose, a spinathon fundraiser that stretched from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center.
The event raised $43,000 for 2Gether We Live, an Arizona nonprofit that gives athletes with disabilities or limited mobility, like Scout, the chance to line up at the starting line instead of watching from the sidelines.
“It's just really nice to have a community come together and support something that Scout and I do together,” said Alicia. “We were just trying to find a community for her — and then we found this.”
Founded in 2017 by Timothy Bolen, the organization’s mission is to help these athletes participate in multisport events they can’t safely do alone. Athlete volunteers serve as the “arms and legs” for nearly 30 families on the team, using specialized Hoyt chairs and pushchairs so families can experience inclusion, health and wellness, and community together while participating in sports, from running and cycling to skiing, swimming, summiting mountains or even Ironman-distance races.
Pledges flooded in from College of Education faculty and other GCU staff in support of Scout. A portion of the money raised will pay for her race entry fees for a year and maintenance of her mobility device.
Scout has level 3 autism, a diagnosis that requires the highest level of support needs and touches nearly every part of her day, from eating to communicating. While she is nonspeaking and has significant sensory needs, Scout thrives in motion.
Events such as the spinathon are about reimagining what inclusion looks like for the Kozimor family. For families navigating autism and other disabilities, the barriers to participation — cost, access, sometimes judgment from others — are much more challenging than any 12-hour ride.
Dance classes and soccer weren’t the right fit for Scout. She had outgrown gymnastics. Alicia was having a hard time finding the right match for the way Scout’s brain and body move through the world.
Everything changed when Alicia found a running group that welcomed athletes with disabilities and helped provide a mobility device that could carry Scout safely alongside other runners. It opened the door to the Phoenix 10K and a world where cheering crowds, finish lines and race medals belonged to Scout, too.
When she’s out on the course, the judgment fades away. No one flinches if she makes noise. She can bounce, shout and smile her way through the miles. The community understands that this is how she communicates joy.
“It’s one of the only places where we never have to apologize for who she is,” Alicia said. “This community lets her be loud, lets her stim (self-stimulatory behavior), lets her just be Scout,” Alicia said. “There’s no pressure to be ‘typical’ here.”
That sense of belonging is what drove Alicia and her husband to sign up for 2Gether We Live’s 12-hour spinathon, hosted at the Ability 360 Center, designed specifically for people with disabilities. Riders and runners committed to go the distance individually or in relay-style fashion.
For Alicia, this year’s event was a return ride. She’d tried it once before, learned the hard way what 12 hours in the saddle can do to your body, and came back better prepared with cushioned seats, electrolytes and teammates.
Spin bikes were lined across the gym floor while an indoor track circled overhead. Some runners neared 70 miles. Cyclists, such as Critchfield and the Kozimors, stayed in the saddle hour after hour, taking just a few breaks throughout the day. Volunteer spin instructors rotated through each hour, bringing new playlists and themes.
“We’ve built this culture of care where we look after each other, so when Alicia brought this opportunity to us, we knew we wanted to be there for her and Scout. Getting on the bike for 12 hours was just one more way to live that out,” Critchfield said. “As a college, we’re very collaborative, and we try to support one another in and out of school. … It was a no-brainer for us to elevate the opportunities and voices for people with disabilities.”
Critchfield estimates she rode about 150 miles, roughly Phoenix to Flagstaff. Kozimor and her husband did the same, while another College of Education colleague, Dr. Jeremy Hayden, planned to ride but had to withdraw after breaking his toe the night before.
Critchfield sees events like this as an extension of what GCU is doing in the classrooms. At a time when many universities are shrinking or shuttering their special education programs, GCU’s is expanding, with more students enrolling in programs focused on teaching and supporting learners with disabilities.
“In our College of Education, we have a lot of programs that prepare teachers to be special education teachers. It’s really important to me that we do everything we can to uplift individuals who have disabilities in whatever way that we possibly can, and make them feel included and loved in schools,” Critchfield said. “We know our students are going to go out and make a difference, and do really, really hard work for really, really important populations.”
For Alicia, watching her dean and colleagues donate or give up a full day to ride made that culture tangible.
“For Meredith to give up a whole Saturday to support an organization and my family and my daughter means so much,” Alicia said. “The support rolled in as if it wasn’t even a question. It was just ‘If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.’ And I really felt that.”
GCU News senior writer Jason Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected].
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