Michael Young has smashed his fundraising target two months into his year-long challenge. Photos: Facebook.
Hanwood teacher Michael Young will run a total of 506 km this year in marathons to raise money for research to combat multiple sclerosis (MS), a goal he set after learning his sister had been diagnosed with the illness.
“We received the news about Erica over the Christmas break,” Michael said.
“My family are full of GPs and doctors and we knew what was going on, but it was still a shock.
“MS can hit anyone at any age. There are some severe cases and some who can manage it. For my sister, it’s not severe yet but it can change at any time.”
MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system that interrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body. This can cause numbness, weakness, loss of vision and other symptoms.
Erica, a 35-year-old vet, is one of more than 33,000 Australians impacted by the condition.
“There is no real cure for MS, it’s an unpredictable illness,” Michael said. ”So I felt I needed to raise awareness and do something within my means to help.”
Michael with his brother Andrew and sister Erica.
He’s therefore connected with the charity Kiss Goodbye to MS to raise funds for research and advocacy. He will run a marathon of 42.2 km each month this year and people can donate online to support his cause.
“I originally had a small target of one grand, but we reached that pretty quickly when all my friends supported us,” Michael said. ”Our total got up to two grand, then three.
“We set a target of five grand, but we are already over four thousand and it’s only the second month of the year.”
The money the 28-year-old has raised would already cover the cost of sequencing an entire family to determine the genes that influence MS. If he reaches the $10,000 mark, his achievement could pay for one fluorescence microscope so researchers can examine specimens at a cellular level. It could also fund a PhD student MS researcher for 20 weeks.
“This is the first time I’m doing something like this for charity,” Michael said.
“I also haven’t done a lot of marathon running before, so 42 km each time is a big whack. I did a run last weekend around the lake and between houses where my mates live.
”I stopped by for photos with them and picked up some mates on the way. I try and make it a bit more interesting than just doing the same route all the time.
“Over the year, I’m doing seven runs around NSW and Victoria and five around town. Even if the money stops now, we are stoked with what we have achieved already.”
You can support Michael’s cause by donating money on his Kiss Goodbye to MS page.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
Loading ...
