Runner out to break Pacific Crest Trail record

Sam Fox due on Mt. Ashland Saturday

Ashland Daily Tidings
Posted: 2:00 AM September 16, 2011

Runner Sam Fox is taking on a grueling challenge to show support for his mother, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Fox is attempting to break a 65-day speed record for running the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail. He is expected to reach the section of trail that crosses the back side of Mount Ashland on Saturday.

The PCT stretches from the Canadian border down through Washington, Oregon and California to the Mexican border.

"This challenge requires covering more than 40 miles every day, for two months, with an average daily elevation gain and loss of over 16,000 vertical feet," Fox noted on the website for the foundation he started, Run While You Can.

During his run, Fox is raising money and awareness about Parkinson's, a chronic disease that causes sufferers to gradually lose their ability to move normally. It is often characterized by shaking.

Fox and his supporters have raised nearly $100,000 toward their $250,000 goal.