Where There’s a Will There’s a Way

As many of you know, The ING NYC Marathon was cancelled this year so that the focus could be on recovery efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Although a bittersweet outcome for all marathon runners who have spent the last couple of months training for this one day, we still want to praise their fundraising efforts especially our very own TEAM Bachmann-Strauss.

Since 2006, The Bachmann-Strauss Foundation has been a New York Road Runner’s charity partner for the ING NYC Marathon. Throughout these past seven years, TEAM Bachmann-Strauss has raised over $1 million! What an accomplishment for these individuals who dedicate as much time training to run as they do fundraising for a cause that means so much to them.

Dystonia and Parkinson’s disease indirectly affect some of our runners, but most are directly affected. Even something like Hurricane Sandy can’t stop our runners from completing their task to run a marathon. It might not be New York’s marathon but it is still 26.2 miles that they set out to conquer.

Dan London (photo left), one of The Foundation’s most dedicated runners, has been a member of TEAM Bachmann-Strauss for the past 3 years. Dan’s determination to complete the 26.2-mile race is all in honor of his wife, Allison London who was diagnosed with dystonia a few years ago. He set out to run in the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, November 18th. Not only did Dan complete this unfamiliar course with his best time yet of 3:57:23, he raised $67,000 for medical research!

In addition, three year TEAM Bachmann-Strauss runner, Joanna Parker-Lentz (far left in photo right), participated in the Harrisburg Marathon one week after the ING NYC marathon was cancelled. She rallied a local group of women who all wanted “a make-up” marathon. A total of six women, four from her town (Short Hills, NJ) and two from out of town.

That is just a small example of the tremendous things our marathon runners are doing to raise awareness and needed funds for dystonia and Parkinson’s disease. Their hard work and perseverance doesn’t go unnoticed, especially after the groundbreaking success of raising $1 million! With every day of training and every stride they take towards that finish line, we are one step closer to finding a cure for dystonia and Parkinson’s disease.