Community Corner
John Tanner Memorial 5K Race Sunday, 10/20
On Sunday October 20, 2013 the Our Promise to Nicholas Foundation (OPTN) will host the first annual John Tanner Memorial 5K Run. The race start is behind the Wayland Town Buildings at 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, MA. and the finish line will be at the back of Russell’s Garden Center. All proceeds will go to support Batten disease research.
Nicholas,now 10 years old, is the grandson of an employee at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA. He was diagnosed 5 years ago with the life threatening brain disease known as Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, or Batten disease. Children with this disease suffer from seizures, blindness, dementia, immobility, and will typically die between the ages of eight and twelve. Batten disease is potentially curable if given enough support for research.
John Tanner was a longtime friend of Nicholas’s family and he was also an employee at Russell’s Garden Center. John was an exceptional athlete and competitive runner who devoted his races over the past 5 years to raising awareness about Nicholas and Batten disease. While doing what he loved, combining running and fundraising, he unexpectedly passed away while running the NYC half marathon this past spring (2013).
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John was a caring and kind person devoted to helping others, and he is sorely missed by family, friends, and his companions in the running community. He used to muse to fellow employees that the road behind Russell’s would be a perfect place for a road race but never put those thoughts into action. OPTN is proud to start this race in John’s honor since he chose to benefit Nicholas with his races.
Our Promise to Nicholas Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has worked hard during the past 5 years to directly fund worthy research initiatives. OPTN was instrumental in organizing an international scientific conference in partnership with the National Institutes of Health and other Batten disease foundations. Our second scientific conference is planned for spring 2014 to again bring the best scientists in the world together to further the research on Batten disease in the hope of finding a cure for this terrible children’s illness.
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RACE DATE: Sunday October 20, 2013
PLACE: Start: Wayland Town Buildings, 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA 01778
TIME: Start at 11:00 AM
Online registration at http://www.racewire.com
Our Promise to Nicholas Foundation: http://ourpromisetonicholas.com
Contact for details: Amy Noyes amybnoyes@gmail.com
