Joe and Otis smash the Hawke's Bay marathon

Long-time UpsideDonws members, the Payton whanau of Hawke’s Bay, have achieved an incredible feat this winter. Joe, Dad of Otis who is 10 years old and has Down syndrome, ran the full marathon in May, achieving the incredible finish time of 3 hours 4 minutes. He placed 28th out of 662 runners!! Not only this, but Joe, Otis, and the Payton whanau also raised over $14,000 for UpsideDowns, so that kids like Otis can unlock their potential.

We’re so proud to have been a part of Otis’ communication journey, and so excited at this incredible result, which will help as many as 14 other kids like Otis to receive speech therapy this year.

Congratulations team Payton!!