[CarolynS]

10 million metre man takes big step towards unlikely target

Henley Standard, UK, Date: Mon, September 19, 2011

A MAN with Parkinson’s disease has spoken of his latest gruelling challenge in a bid to travel 10 million metres and raise more than £1million for charity.

Alex Flynn, 39, from Henley, ran and cycled from London to Rome, a distance of 1,457 miles, or more than 2.3 million metres.

It brings his total distance covered so far to 3,495,330 metres and he has raised more than £42,000 for Parkinson’s UK.

He said: “It was an unbelievable achievement to complete the run, especially because I came close to giving up a number of times. Now I am looking forward to the next challenge.”

Mr Flynn, who discovered he had the incurable disease in 2008 and is losing his mobility gradually, said the month-long journey was one of the most gruelling experiences of his life.


He suffered a bone fracture in his right leg and was nearly killed by passing trucks in the Alps.

Mr Flynn, a lawyer, was accompanied on the challenge by Dave Clamp, an ironman competitor from Cheshire, and they set off from London at 5.30am on June 10.

[CarolynS]

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.

[pegleg]

It should be noted that Michael J. Fox has a son (eldest) named Sam, but this is another Sam. I am impressed with what this Sam Fox is doing - helping raise funds to find a cure, inspired by his mother who suffers from Parkinson's.

But something else caught my eye in this post - it is the quote digger captured.

One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered. Michael J. Fox, in "Saving Milly" by Morton Kondrake

What a powerful statement! Thanks f or pointing this out, digger

Peggy

[CarolynS]

Group Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro For Parkinson's Research

New Parkinson's Disease Research Project Could Offer Hope For Patients

September 22, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- A group of San Diegans has just returned from a hike up Mount Kilimanjaro that helped raise money to fund a research project to help those living with Parkinson's disease.

[jeanb]

Wobbly Williams also plans to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in january 2012 in honor of Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday.

jean

[CarolynS]

Jake's Ride Nears $1 Million to Aid Research for Dystonia, Parkinson's

The Wall Street Journal

Nancy Silverman still remembers the Tuesday night when she arrived at a school in town to be greeted by neighbors, friends, teachers and local officials. They gathered to support her family after her son, Jake, was diagnosed with dystonia, a devastating neurological muscle disorder.

To read this download the .pdf file.

[CarolynS]

Kilimanjaro climbers uplifted by success

North Country Times, San Diego, aturday, October 1, 2011 9:00 am

The pack of local hikers that hit the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro this month has returned from Africa with a new confidence and a will to continue raising money for stem-cell research.

"We are definitely capable of doing more than we think we are able to do," said Brad Arens. A 57-year-old climber from Vista, he started training in January to climb the 19,340-foot mountain with the group, Summit 4 Stem Cells.

Their achievement was not quite a miracle, but it certainly wasn't easy. Arens and two other climbers in the group have Parkinson's disease, a neurological condition that impairs movement, causing trembling, involuntary muscle stiffness and imbalance among the symptoms.

[paula_w]

if you people - using 'wobbly' and 'mountain climbing' in the same sentence makes me cringe- are out there climbing mountains i thank you and be careful for God's sake.

I am determined not to fall while playing pickle ball anymore if you all can climb a mountain!

life in this community is not dull, i'll say that much for being here.

[CarolynS]

MISS Scotland's Tiara Appeal has captured the hearts of the nation this week

The Scottish Sun, Friday, 21 October 2011

Stunning Jennifer Reoch, 22, right, is determined to raise £100,000 to help find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

She'll be scaling Kilimanjaro in January with Bryn Williams — who founded the Wobbly Williams awareness group — and rugby legend Gavin Hastings, whose wife Diane suffers from the condition.

Outdoor specialists Tiso are backing the trek by supplying discounted kit and making a donation to the appeal. And your kind donations have already started flooding in, with over £40,000 raised so far.

[CarolynS]

Cawston nurse sets off on charity bike ride in Cuba

Norwich Evening News, UK, Wednesday, November 2, 2011
6:00 PM

Specialist nurse Lynda Hind is about to set off on a bike ride across Cuba to help raise funds for a Parkinson’s disease charity.