He's 15. He has cerebral palsy. He runs — far.

Matthew Taylor, a 15-year-old from Florida who has cerebral palsy, runs in St. Paul on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in preparation for running 10 miles on Sunday as part of a Medtronic Global Heroes program. Taylor is one of 25 athletes who'll be participating in races this weekend. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

Cerebral palsy can make movement tough for a kid.

But the condition won't stop Matthew Taylor from competing in the Medtronic TC 10-Mile race this weekend. In fact, it's a key part of the reason the 15-year-old Florida boy was making his first visit to Minnesota on Friday, Oct. 5.

Taylor is one of 25 athletes competing in either the 10-miler or marathon Sunday as part of a Medtronic program that annually sponsors athletes who run with medical devices.

The Fridley-based company makes an implanted drug pump that delivers medication to Taylor's spine that treats muscle spasticity due to cerebral palsy. The disc-shaped pump measures 3.4 inches in diameter and is less than an inch thick.

"It felt like my muscles would get tighter and tighter as I walked, moved or did anything else," Taylor said of life before he received the implant in 2010. After the surgery, "it felt great -- I felt looser. Right now, I'm running, having fun, enjoying life."

Medtronic's charitable foundation pays for the race entry and travel expenses for athletes such as Matthew who are part of the Global Heroes program. Since 2006, the program has sponsored 159 athletes from 23 countries.

Many have competed with insulin pumps, pacemakers and a heart rhythm device called an implantable cardiac defibrillator, which shocks failing hearts back into rhythm. Matthew and another athlete will run this year with implanted drug pumps that can treat spasticity, a condition in which stiff, rigid

Rich Fischer, a spokesman for the Medtronic Foundation, said only one other Global Hero has competed with such a pump.

Matthew's struggle with spasticity stems from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that appears in infancy or early childhood and permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination.

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He's 15. He has cerebral palsy. He runs -- far.