Run for ALS – 16th Annual Run and Walk Inspiring Care, Hope and Community
Betty’s Run for ALS will take place on Sunday June 10th at 9 a.m. at North Glenmore Park. This is the 16th anniversary of Betty’s Run, an event started in honour of local Calgarian, Betty Norman. Teams and individuals wanting to register and fundraise can visit www.bettysrun.ca.
Betty’s Run for ALS is the largest fundraiser for ALS across Canada. Over these past 16 years, Betty’s “family” has grown to more than 30,000 people and has raised over $4.5 million for research, awareness and support services. Funds raised through this event are donated to the ALS Society of Alberta, who works to ensure that people living with ALS are receiving vital equipment and support through their journey with ALS.
Every year, Betty’s Run for ALS chooses a new Ambassador, someone who has been diagnosed with ALS and can show what it is like to live with the disease. Our Ambassador for 2012 is Shelagh Mikulak: a wife, mother, daughter, sister, law librarian, national director and volunteer. She lives with her husband and children in Calgary. One day Shelagh began to notice her foot drop and had problems walking more than a couple of blocks. Something was wrong. On November 25, 2010, after several months of testing, a cervical spinal fusion and continued deterioration, Shelagh received the devastating diagnosis – ALS. A fatal degenerative neuromuscular disease which takes its time to dismantle the body while leaving the mind functioning normally. Until Shelagh developed ALS, she never gave much thought to how much she depended on her arms and legs – they were just there when she needed them to walk up stairs, to lift her coffee cup and to open the mail. With credit to Joni Mitchell, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” Shelagh learned new ways to adapt each time she experienced a loss. She is no longer able to walk – but flies through the air in the ceiling lift. She gets out and about in the electric wheelchair. She can be better heard with the microphone. Now Shelagh depends on equipment and other people to do what she used to do so easily. She is very grateful for the incredible support she has received from the ALS Society of Alberta. Shelagh has a remarkable outlook and continues to choose to celebrate life and focus on what really matters.
WHAT: Betty’s Run for ALS – 16th Annual Run and Walk
5 mile run, 5 km walk
WHO: 1500+ Calgarians, Ian White, Shelagh Mikulak, Calgary Fiddlers, Bow Valley Fiddlers, O’Sheas Shenanigans
WHEN: Sunday June 10th 2012
Registration: 9 a.m.
Kick-off: 10 a.m.
Estimated end: 1 p.m.
WHERE: North Glenmore Park Rowing and Canoe Club
6449 Crowchild Trail SW
*Watch for the ALS shuttle buses within Glenmore Park and along 66 Avenue SW for a ride to the race start area