HYANNIS – Close to 500 walkers are fighting fatigue and blisters on Cape Cod this weekend to complete a 50-mile walk seeking to raise $1 million to fund cutting edge research to stop the progression of multiple sclerosis.
The 14th Challenge Walk MS is a three-day, 50-mile walk from September 11 to the 13 to benefit the National MS Society.
“It’s really about raising the bar. MS is a disease that doesn’t stop and we want to make sure that we end MS now, so raising the bar is the best thing that we can do,” said Steve Sookikian, associate vice president of communication with the Greater MS New England Chapter.
The walk began this morning at 8 o’clock at the Hyannis Village Green when walkers traveled 20 miles to Brewster.
They are staying overnight both tonight and Saturday at Cape Cod Sea Camps in Brewster. On Saturday, they will walk a 20-mile loop to Eastham and return.
On Sunday, walkers travel west 10 miles to Dennis along Route 6A and finish at the Nathaniel H. Wixon Innovation School in South Dennis.
They are then bused to the Hyannis Transportation Center for a 2 p.m. parade down Main Street to the Hyannis Village Green. Those with MS wear orange T-shirts. The others wear blue T-shirts in support.
“That parade on Sunday is really a very emotional experience for everybody involved,” Sookikian said.
Listen below to Patty Thorpe, who has MS and is a chapter board of trustees member and a walker this weekend, and Steve Sookikian, associate vice president of communication with the Greater MS New England Chapter, talk about Challenge Walk MS.
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