Middle School Cross Country Runner Smacked By Deer During Race

A Saginaw teen is recovering after a deer hit her while both were going full speed during a race Saturday.

The 13 year old girl, Madison Sylvester, was competing in a meet at Delta College when she spotted the deer out of the corner of her eye. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late, the deer collided with her.

Her twin sister Maegan was right behind her when it happened.

“The deer kept came running out of the dip and it like leaped out and hit her. She like kind of got thrown to the ground by the deer, and she was just laying there and her face was just in shock,” Maegan told WJRT-TV.

Madison, who weighs in at just 100 pounds was no match for the full grown deer. She suffered a broken collarbone and a concussion in the incident, which will leave her sidelined for the next month or so.

Her dad, Josh, ran up on the scene as quickly as he could.

“The mud, the blood coming out of her nose and her mouth and she recognized me and when she said, ‘Dad,’ it was hard for me,” he said. “I had to bite my lip and hold it in.”

Many of us might hang up the spikes after such an incident, but not Madison. She is looking forward to getting back out there.

“I’m probably going to be nervous,” Madison told MLive. “It’s something that we can laugh about now, but when I’m racing again, I’m going to be nervous.”

Runners being struck by deer during races is not terribly uncommon in Michigan. Most are minor incidents and go unreported, but some can leave their mark as a couple competing in a half marathon in Traverse City found out