Walk expected to draw 5,000
BY MARCIA SAGENDORPH | STAFF WRITER
msagendorph@pioneerlocal.com

Over 5,000 people are expected to participate in the fifth annual Les Turner ALS Foundation Walk4Life event on Saturday, Sept. 9. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the two-mile walk along the Chicago lakefront begins at 10 a.m. at Montrose Harbor.

The event unites hundreds of family teams, corporations and individuals in support of those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. It is a progressive, degenerative disease of the nervous system that can result in progressive muscle weakness, making it difficult to walk or talk. The disease is commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease, named for the New York Yankee's baseball player who died of ALS at age 37 in 1941.

More than 5,600 Americans are diagnosed with the disease annually, according to the ALS foundation. The walk brings together doctors, researchers, family and friends to honor or remember their loved ones.

"It has grown to be an amazing kind of reunion of sorts," said Wendy Abrams, executive director of the Les Turner ALS Foundation. "It is really a celebration of life that is an inspiring, hopeful day. It's really turned out to be much more than we envisioned it to be."

The walk is open to the public at no charge, although donations are encouraged. It is accessible for those in wheelchairs or strollers.

The Walk4Life event began in 2002 with 92 teams raising $325,000. In 2005, the walk brought together 175 teams raising $750,000.

"This year, we hope to raise $850,000," said Abrams. Proceeds help support research and local ALS patients. "The walk is a truly uplifting event."