Fifth Zach’s Run For MPS Slated Sept. 18

OCEAN CITY — Making Precious Strides, Inc. (MPS, Inc.) will hold its Fifth Annual Zach’s Run, a 5K Race and 1-Mile Fun Walk, to raise funds for a cure for Hunter Syndrome. The event will be held Sat., Sept. 18, rain or shine, Sixth Street and the Boardwalk, Ocean City.
Proceeds from the event go to North Carolina Children’s Hospital at the University of North Carolina, a medical research center currently working on a cure for Hunter Syndrome. Organizers will present a check in the amount of $20,000 to the Children’s Hospital following the Run.
Since its inception, the organization has raised over $85,000 toward medical research.
Hunter Syndrome or (Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II- MPS II) is a life-threatening, genetic disease that affects the body’s ability to break down cell waste, which interferes with the functions of cells and soft tissue organs leading to serious complications.
There is no cure for the disease. The race’s namesake Zachary Dearth was diagnosed with Hunter Syndrome in July 2005 at the age of three. Originally from southern New Jersey, Zachary and his family reside in Fredonia, New York.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Race begins at 9 a.m. The check presentation to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital will take place at 10:30 a.m. Pre-Registration costs $20 and Day-of Registration costs $25. Proceeds from the event go to medical research for Hunter Syndrome.
The event’s annual Tot Trot will be named in honor of Edward A. Woolley III, of Penn Valley, Pa. Woolley lost his battle with Hurler Syndrome, a form of Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), similar to Hunter Syndrome, in 1994, a month before his fifth birthday.
Each September on Edward’s birthday, his mother Gina Woolley visits the Jersey shore to remember Edward and celebrate his life. Last Labor Day weekend Gina was walking along the Ocean City Boardwalk and came across a Zach’s Run flyer while purchasing a paperweight for her friend.
“I was speechless,” said Gina Woolley. “I told the lady behind the counter that I had a child, Edward, with MPS, and it was his birthday. Seeing Zachary’s face and that similar smile, made me realize that this was a sign that Edward was okay and watching down over all the other MPS children and families.”
Edward A. Woolley III would have been 21 this September.
“After we met Gina Woolley, we felt it was important to dedicate a part of our special day to Edward,” said Christian Blasberg, president, Making Precious Strides, Inc. “Her story has inspired us to keep fighting.”
For more information, visit www.zachsrun.org orwww.makingprecious strides.org.