MILES TO GO BEFORE WE FIND A CURE 

Charlotte, N.C. (July 13, 2011) – Would you walk 800 miles to find a cure for multiple sclerosis?  How about riding your bike 180 miles in a weekend? David Fairbaugh of Charlotte did just that and is now participating in this year’s first ever Mud Run MS Carolinas in Raleigh on September 24.  Mud Run is a 10K (6.2 mile) adventure course featuring boot camp style obstacles that are surrounded by or consist entirely of mud. The National MS Society and the Original Mud Run, LLC have partnered to create this unique fundraising event which will be taking place at Camp Butner in Stem, NC, just north of Raleigh.  

David is not new to fundraising events in this area. His sister, Paige, was diagnosed with MS in 1997, and in 2001 he was a part of the first ever MS Challenge Walk. Since then, he has participated in 18 challenge walks, totaling over 800 miles to help find a cure. In 2005 he rode 180 miles in the “Breakaway to the Beach” ride, and in 2010 he was an inaugural member of the "Order of Magnificent Soles" for walking 10 years in the event here in Charlotte. “We need to find a cure for MS. MS is a disease that affects the quality of life for those who must deal with it. The cure is there- we just have to find it.  I like to think that these crazy events- 50 mile walks, 6 miles in the mud- can raise awareness and funding for this curable disease,” says David.

This new Mud Run MS event is the fastest growing adventure race in the country! When asked about the event and the cause that it promotes, David says, “MS is not an inherited or contagious disease.  Anyone can be diagnosed with it at any time.  The next diagnosis might be someone you know.  That is why we have to get the word out- raise the money, find the cure.  Mud Runs are all the rage around the US. We need to keep this event at the forefront until a cure is found.”

When you sign up for this event, you have the option of participating alone or joining with friends to create your own team. For the event this year, David is the team captain of Team Fairbaugh. “It poses a great physical challenge.  10k road races are quite common.  A 10k in the mud with obstacles- now that is uncommon!  I look at it this way- if a person with MS can get up and get over the obstacles they face each day, I can surely get over the obstacles on this course,” he says.

For more information about this event or to register, visit www.mudruncarolinas.org.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The National MS Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS. To fulfill this mission, the Society funds cutting-edge research, drives change through advocacy, facilitates professional education, collaborates with MS organizations around the world, and provides programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move forward with their lives.  In 2010 alone, through its national office and 50-state network of chapters, the Society devoted $159 million to programs and services that assisted more than one million people. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.

 About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.

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