My mom’s 22-mile walk

Last Saturday, my mom walked 22 miles with her friends as part of an annual event at her gym called Day of Endurance. I’m beyond impressed with her and her friends, both for the walk itself and for the months of training they did to prepare for it!

So I wanted to share these beautiful people with you.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) makes walking a challenge for my mom, and for many of her friends at the gym. But she is stubborn, and she has never let MS get in the way of her walking, biking, exercising, doing 6:00 am trampoline workouts (!!), and otherwise leading a beautiful, independent and full life.

My mom and I got to do a lot of walking together in Jordan in 2018, when she and my family visited me while I was living there. We visited Petra, Jordan’s most famous tourist attraction:

According to the National MS Society,

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. Currently there is no cure. Symptoms vary from person to person and may include fatigue, mobility challenges, cognitive changes and vision issues. Nearly 1 million people in the United States live with MS and 2.8 million worldwide.

My mom’s gym in Milwaukee, WI is called “MS: Just Keep Moving”, and it’s also a nonprofit. It was founded with the mission of bringing together a thriving community of people living with MS, caregivers, and volunteers, all working towards improving their quality of life through love, consistent physical exercise, education, and fellowship.

Dan, the founder, who also has MS, set up this gym several years ago with just keep moving as its motivating idea: in whatever capacity you can right now, move. They raise funds through their nonprofit to ensure that the gym can be free for anyone to use.

At the gym, there are some like my mom who can walk 20 miles, and others who can walk only a few steps before sitting back down in a wheelchair. But Dan’s central idea for this gym was it doesn’t matter if you’re walking or rolling or swimming. If you’re going 10 steps or 10 miles. Set a goal, and keep going.  

I think this applies to all of us in life, too.

My mom began training for this walk several months ago. She increased her training walks to five, then eight, then ten miles. In June when we were on family vacation all together in Delaware, one day she walked 15 miles with my dad. It took them six hours; they set out at 7:00 am and came back in the mid-afternoon.

Through July and August, I’ve seen her on Strava doing 14-mile, 16-mile, and 17-mile walks. The little thumbs up symbol, for kudos on Strava, doesn’t quite convey how amazed I am with all her training!

On Saturday the gym held its annual Day of Endurance event. The aim of this day, according to the gym’s website, is “for members to set goals for themselves early on in the year, and work towards these goals the rest of the spring and summer. Events include walking, swimming, biking, running, rolling, or standing for distances or times they choose.” Goals range from “walking 25 steps, all the way up to an Ironman-distance triathlon.”

I knew my mom was starting around 6:00 am on Saturday and that her goal of walking 20 miles would take her most of the day. The group met in a park to do repeat loops of a 1.5-mile course, and had an area with snacks and drinks to refuel throughout the day. I was receiving text updates from my dad and sister throughout the day: 10:00 am: Mom has already walked 4.7 and is going back out on the course! 2:15 pm: 12 down, 8 to go!

Then I heard my mom was at mile 15 but wasn’t feeling too great, and then the updates stopped after a while. I was a little worried. But close to 9:00 pm, my dad texted: “We just finished! Mom walked 22 miles!” I was thrilled to see these beautiful finishers, and that my mom had exceeded her goal by two miles.

Last week, my mom told me that with mostly small donations of $20 or $40 from friends and acquaintances in advance of the walk, she’s raised over $1,000 for the gym. She was blown away by this, and so am I.

I donated, and if any of you are inclined to support as well, here is the link where you can do so. Funds donated at that link go directly to supporting the MS: Just Keep Moving gym.

You’ll be making a bunch of incredible Milwaukee people happy, and helping them add more resources, supplies, and devices to MS: Just Keep Moving.

Congratulations, Mom and everyone who completed Day of Endurance! Onward and upward ❤