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General News: Team Kelly Runs for Parkinson's Research
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| Mike and Jennie pose for a photo before a half-marathon race in October. Photo by Mary Kelly. |
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| Mike gives the thumbs up sign just before they cross the finish line. Photo by Mary Kelly. |
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October 13, 2009
When the New York Marathon sets off on Sunday, November 1st, it will include a father-daughter team from Cornwall-on-Hudson whose steps are inspired by a race to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
It was about four years ago when Mike Kelly, a well-known local paving contractor who played on the 1969 Cornwall varsity soccer team with General Petraeus, got the news that he had Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
Last summer, his daughters, Mary and Jennie, decided they were going to run in the New York Marathon to raise money for Team Fox, a part of Michael J. Fox’s Foundation, which aims at finding a cure for the disease. Both daughters had been active in sports – softball, soccer and basketball – during high school but neither had pursued distance running. Mary, a new school teacher, coached cross country last year but during the past winter she injured her calf and had to bow out of training for the race. That’s when Mike decided to step in.
Mike says he started training late last winter and has steadily increased his runs. He points out that research shows that Parkinson’s patients who exercise regularly have been able to reduce the effects of the disease and notes that he has reduced his medication significantly since he began to train.
Even though she was an athlete in high school, Jennie says that since she graduated in 2002 she has not participated in organized sports. So, when she hit the pavement last April to begin training, Jennie had a long way to go. “I did a 5K race in May and I could barely make it,” Jennie said, “but I’ve been getting faster and faster and now run with a team.”
In early October, Mike and Jennie took part in their first race together, a half-marathon in Central Park. The day was unseasonably humid and Mike was so sweaty that Jennie, who is studying to become a physician’s assistant, kept asking him if he was going to make it.
“She stayed with me, luckily,” Mike said, “and I wasn’t going to give up.” The next week, he ran a full 19 mile course through Cornwall, the longest distance he will go before the 26.2 mile marathon next month.
Mike and Jenny are confident that they will finish the marathon, even if it takes five hours or more. “Our goal is to finish,” Mike said. “No time, just to finish.”
Jennie explains that their main reason for running is to get the word out of Parkinson and to raise funds to do more research into the disease. She says that many people have contributed to their run in the New York Marathon and she wants to thank them for their support by crossing the finish line.
If readers are interested in supporting Mike and Jennie’s effort, you may visit TeamFox.org, for Jennie's page or Mike's.
Comments:
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Go Get 'em, Mike! You have, I think, exactly the right asttitude. Good luck.
posted by Gary Regan on 10/13/09 at 4:25 PM
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Congrats! What an accomplishment...we are so proud of you!
posted by Angela Dauerer on 10/14/09 at 10:51 AM
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