Blazeman Foundation holds Spin-A-Thon to benefit ALS

01:38 PM CST on Monday, February 2, 2009

By DEBBIE FETTERMAN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
fitinthecity@dfwrunning.com

For speech therapist Kristina Martin, next month's Cycle for ALS will be much more than a training session.

Martin will be cycling Saturday for four consecutive hours on a stationary bike at REI Dallas.

She's one of more than 50 cyclists participating in the national Cycle for ALS Spin-A-Thon Indoor Ride-a-thon series. Martin's coach, Stacy Mullikin, is organizing the local event.


Martin works for Texas Neurology, which operates a monthly clinic for patients suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

She knows firsthand the struggles these patients and their families go through as the disease progresses.

"I have a soft place in my heart," she says.

Martin, Dr. Daragh Heitzman, the neurologist, and a team consisting of a physical therapist, a respiratory therapist, a dietitian and a social worker meet with patients, their families and caregivers to educate and devise strategies to improve the quality of patients' lives as their bodies fail them, Martin said.

The fundraiser supports the Blazeman Foundation for ALS, a nonprofit named in memory of Jon Blais, who in 2005 became the first person with ALS to complete the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Mullikin, an Ironman, was so moved by Blais' story that she volunteered to host the event.

Mullikin first met and coached Martin in 2005. Last year, she helped Martin train for a couple of half Ironman distance events and a full one.

This year, Martin says she hopes to do several more.


Debbie Fetterman is a Dallas freelance writer.

CYCLE FOR ALS
Blazeman Foundation Spin-A-Thon Cycle for ALS Indoor Ride-a-thon, REI Dallas, 4515 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Noon to 4 p.m., $10 but must register ahead, 214-476-8580 or www.spinforals.com.



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