My mom is a huge runner. It’s her favorite way to decompress and relieve stress… plus, since she’s helping my sister and I often, it’s also her way to get away and have some “me time.” So she tries to get in a little bit of a run every day, even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes.

For the past eight years now, she’s been running the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon, and for the last few of them, she’s been able to partner with Cure SMA and raise money for SMA advocacy and research while she runs! Cure SMA provides advocacy and support for families and individuals affected by SMA, and also raises money to fund research for the treatment and cure of SMA. They actually provided the seed funding for the research that eventually developed into Spinraza, the first-ever treatment for SMA.

SMA is a rare disease, which means that the number of organizations raising funds for it are limited, and Cure SMA really relies on grassroots fundraising and advocacy to advance their mission. That’s why we’re happy to help further their mission by creating a charity team each year at Pittsburgh’s marathon.

I don’t use this space to ask for things very often – I like to just share my life. But I’m making an exception in this case because it’s something that’s so important to me. You can view my mom’s fundraising page here – we’d be grateful if you were able to donate a small amount, or even if you are able to share the page yourself. In cases like these, any amount you’re able to give really does make a big difference!