The MS Runner

Running While Battling Foot Blisters, Leg Cramps, Black Toe Nails - and MS

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MS Run the US

Published January 23rd, 2010 in Ashley Kumlien, MS Run The US | 4 Comments »

MS Run the US

This year, Ashley Kumlien, will be running across the U.S. to raise money and awareness of MS.  MS Run The US is a website all about raising awareness and donations towards the fight and cure of Multiple Sclerosis.  Ashley’s mother has been battling MS for over 26 years and this run is a tribute to her fight and all those like her that are battling this disease.  Ashley is going to run 20 - 30 miles A DAY, 6 days a week for 6 months.  Wow.  Along the way, she is coming through Denver and I may be lucky enough to run with her when she does.  She should be here sometime in the beginning of June and she has asked me if I would run with her when she does.  Check out her website at http://www.msruntheus.com/index.html and see what an amazing lady she is.  I’m sure she get’s it from her mother.

It’s been a great experiance

Published June 12th, 2010 in Ashley Kumlien, MS Run The US, Irish Snug | No Comments »

Ashley Kumlien from MS Run the US came into Denver last week, and now she is on her way to Nebraska.  I got the pleasure of meeting her last week when she came to The Irish Snug and ran with me.  I was blown away by the fact that she is only 26 years old, and she is doing what she’s doing.  She is dedicating her life to finding a cure for MS and has formed her own non profit company and that is now her life.  Last Saturday we ran 12 miles together along the Clear Creek Trail in Golden.  Since she started her run in San Francisco, she has gone to many places and met with many people that either have MS or know someone close to them that has MS.  So she has some great stories to tell, and she’s not even half way.  By the way, somewhere out east in Colorado IS half way.  That’s hard to believe.  I think of Colorado, and Denver in particular, as being in the west.

Last Wednesday we had a fundraiser at the Snug for MS and it turned out quite well.  We raised $2500 that night and met some great people.

Today I ran again with Ashley and we did 12 1/2 miles in the rain.  Actually wasn’t too bad.  It was more of a drizzle and at least it wasn’t too cold.  After wards we sat around in her RV for a little bit before it was time to say goodbye.   I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again, but I’m sure I’ll be following her all the way, and of course cheering for her.

She’s Almost Here!!

Published May 30th, 2010 in MS Run The US, Denver Marathon, Bolder Boulder, Irish Snug, Jason | No Comments »

In less than a week now, Ashley Kumlien from MS Run The US, will be in Denver.  I know for sure that I will be running with her one of the days that she’s here, and possibly one other time.  While she is here, we are going to do a fundraiser to help find a cure for MS at The Irish Snug.  There will be a silent auction and I think that we are going to have some great items to bid on.

Tomorrow is the famous Bolder Boulder 10K where it’s really a big party with some running involved, but I won’t be running it.  I’m not sure why either.  I think part of is is we had planned to take a “party bus” from the Snug to Boulder and back, but I couldn’t get enough people to sign up for it.  Another part is that my son Jason isn’t coming out to run it either.  He has run it with me the last two years, and because he got married and went to Mexico for his honeymoon, he couldn’t make it this year.

I did sign up for my next marathon though.  It’s the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon on October 17th.  I’ve run the Denver Marathon before, but it got bought out by the Rock ‘n’ Roll people this year and so I wanted to run the “inaugural” run.

Not wanting to share

Published May 15th, 2010 in sharing, MS Run The US, Multiple Sclerosis | 10 Comments »

There are not many people that I know well, that know I have MS, and of course they don’t know I have this blog.  I’m not sure why that is.  I’m not ashamed to say I have MS because it’s nothing to be ashamed about.  But in the beginning when I said to people that I have MS, I could sense that they felt sorry for me and that I’ll probably be a cripple soon.  That still could happen, but I just don’t want people to feel sorry for me.  Come to think of it, my daughter doesn’t even know I have this blog.  She knows I have MS, but not this.  I need to fix that.  I need also to share with people that I have this disease.  I look at Ashley Kumlein who is running across the United States and shouting as loud as she can that her mother has MS and that she will raise money to help find a cure for it.  I think there’s only a handful of people that I run with that know I have MS.  And their first reaction is “oh, I’m so sorry”.  I guess I just don’t want that, but what do I expect them to say?  “Hang in there man.  You could be hit by a bus tomorrow, so don’t worry about it”?

I still have that guilty feeling too that I am doing well and that others are not.  The local chapter of MS has these get togethers all the time for people with MS, and I have absolutely no desire to go.  I’ll get the feeling that they will look at me and say “what is HE doing here”?  I’ve thought about going, and then walking in the room with a slight limp just to give me some street cred, but I know I would mess it up and limp on a different leg after awhile.  I could say though that the MS jumps from one leg to another with no reason.  I know, I’m just not right.

The Cost of Running

Published February 1st, 2010 in charities, Haiti, MS Run The US, Bolder Boulder, Runnin' of the Green | No Comments »

The racing season is upon us.  By that I mean on any given weekend, there is probably a race somewhere nearby that you can do.  A few years ago when I started running, the prices of these races didn’t seem too bad.  Now it seems like the prices have almost doubled in 5 years!  I really want to run competitively more, but who can afford it?  What has happened here?  Every race has a zillion sponsors it seems, so where’s all the money going?  There are a lot of races that are linked to some charity, but do we really know that that money is going to that charity?  And what is the percentage?  Speaking of which, there was this big push to give money to help the relief efforts in Haiti.  All you had to do was text to some number and your money was being whisked away to those Haitians in need.  But if you read the fine print, it says “or other relief efforts”.  What does that mean?  But I digress.  All I’m saying is, I want to race more without the high cost.  The Bolder Boulder 10K is $44.  Wow!  The Runnin’ of The Green 7K in Denver is $40 if you don’t sign up early.

Speaking of charities, if anyone out there can donate some money to a worthwhile charity, consider the one that is near and dear to my heart.  It raises awareness for the fight and the cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Go to this link and see what I mean.