Great Wall of China Marat
Dear Friends,
With Beijing in my sights, I am now focused on the journey ahead to the Great Wall of China Marathon. It’s hard to believe just over 300 days ago I was staring at a computer screen that had 12 characters flashing at me: Run4Papa.com
As you may know, I will be running the Great Wall of China Marathon on behalf of my grandfather, Dr. Louis “Papa” Heyman, and EVERYONE who is battling PPA. PPA is a form of dementia wherein people lose the ability to communicate and comprehend language over time.
Over these past 300 days, I have been training and running races in 9 different states, from the sunset cliffs in San Diego to the mountains in Denver through our nation’s Capital and in water along the lakes of Michigan. All these roads are have been leading to the Great Wall of China. I have run 5K’s, 8K’s, 10K’s, Half Marathons, Mud Runs, and even a Tower Race where I Hustled up the Hancock (climbing 94 Flights of stairs). My unorthodox training methods have logged me over 500 miles for THE CAUSE.
As a result of this extraordinary journey, I have run side-by-side with and have been endorsed by the most prolific American Marathoner in history, Bill Rodgers, 4-time winner of the NYC and Boston Marathons. I am partnered with the #1 PPA research facility in the world –Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center — and is supported by the man who first identified PPA, Dr. Marsel Mesulam.
This campaign has had a local, national and international impact on patients and families around the world. We have received over 1,000 individual contributions from California to Florida as well as from the UK to New Zealand. On top of that, sponsors continue to join Run4Papa in an ongoing effort to create awareness of this debilitating disease.
Thank you again for your relentless support and words of encouragement!
Sincerely,
Jason
[email protected]
“I can probably say that no one in the world has done so much to bring awareness to PPA research as you have done in the last 5 months.” -Kevin Connolly, Northwestern CNADC employee, Chicago, IL