HONOLULU, HAWAII – Join the adventure in honor of Vi & Peg on a beautiful 3+ mile course along jeep roads, cow pastures and stream crossings through lush Kaaawa Valley on October 10, 2010. Registration is at 7 am at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu; the race starts at 8 a.m. You can help raise awareness about ALS and call attention to the need for more funding to find a cure for this disease while trekking through sites where Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, Lost and several other movies were filmed.
Vi Jones-Medusky has been living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis since 2004. ALS progressively destroys nerve cells controlling muscles, ultimately paralysing voluntary movement. An accomplished athlete, Vi has finished marathons in Honolulu, Boston, New York, Portland, Los Angeles and Maui as well as five Ultra Marathons and three Ironman Triathlons – Vi kept active for as long as possible: when she could no longer run she biked, when she could no longer bike, she swam. Now bedridden and requiring 24 hour care, Vi’s beautiful smile and spirit is an inspiration to all.
Hawaii artist Peggy Chun known for her brilliant and whimsical watercolors of Island life succumbed to ALS in 2008, 7 years after being diagnosed with the disease. When Peggy could no longer paint with her hands, she held the paintbrush between her teeth. When she was completely paralyzed, she used a computer program that read her eyes, and when that failed, she signalled with her eyes so that caretakers could create her artwork. She never stopped painting and wrote on her website “After all, you don’t paint with your hands, you paint with your heart.”
$20.00 entry fee includes a t-shirt featuring original artwork by Peggy Chun. Entry deadline is October 1, 2010 and limited to 280 participants. For more information, call the Muscular Dystrophy Association ALS Division 808-593-4454 or email Audrey Hirayama at: ahirayama@mdausa.org
This trek is organized by Hawaii Ultra Running Team (HURT) and MDA with a team of about 50 dedicated volunteers. Everyone is encouraged to wear a creative costume to add to the fun and bring a smile to Vi’s face. Race applications will be sent to all past participants and will also be available at local sporting event stores and online at hurthawaii.blogs.com.
Prizes from Peggy Chun’s Gallery will be awarded randomly to finishers.
About MDA ALS Division
MDA has led the fight against ALS for more than 50 years. Vital health care programs such as hospital-affiliated clinics and wheelchair purchases are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. For more information about MDA’s ALS Division, visit https://www.als-mda.org
Submitted by MDA
