Adventurers raise $30,000 in battle against deadly disease
Danielle Bell, The Daily News
Published: Monday, August 27, 2007


The success of Nanaimo's inaugural ALS Adventure Challenge on Saturday means the Harbour City will become an annual host, said organizer Tamara Hung.

"We were so amazed how the community embraced us and made it possible," she said. "We're going to grow the Nanaimo event so it's as big as our Vancouver one."

Seventy-five participants hiked, kayaked and biked 17-kilometres around Westwood Lake, raising more than $30,000 for ALS research and local patient services.

"For our first year (in Nanaimo), that's pretty good," she said.

A fourth annual event for Vancouver, that raised more than $140,000 this year with hundred of participants, Hung is confident she'll break the half-million mark as donations continue to trickle in.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that attacks nerve cells, especially those in the spinal cord, which control voluntary muscles throughout the body. Two to three people in Canada die of ALS each day, said Hung.

"There's no way to treat it. You just deteriorate," she said. For Shauna Kazeil, whose 58-year-old father Jim's ALS has left him virtually unable to move and speaking through a computer, the event was a family affair.

She, her uncle and her two younger brothers competed as Team Beep in the challenge, and were among the top five fundraisers in Nanaimo, collecting more than $20,000 combined.

"We did it for him to show our love and support. It was his legacy," said Kazeil, who said she would "absolutely" participate again next year.

As they crossed the finish line together, Kazeil said seeing her wheelchair-bound father waiting on the other side to show his support was indescribable.

"It was a really great experience to do with the people that you love," she said.

DBell@nanaimodailynews.com

250-954-0600

RACE WINNERS

Solo male:

Len Miller, 1:38:00

Solo female:

Samantha Dubinsky, 1:42:35

Co-ed pair:

Tim Stokes/Kathleen Vandoorn, 1:48:26

Male pair:

Eddy McVeigh/Branko Bejo, 1:58:51

Female pair:

Rhea Hewiston/Lois Redwood, 2:08:54

Mixed foursome:

Josh Minami/Jayson Rumming/Abigail Minami/Jim Garcia, 2:11:40

© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2007