By Rick Griffin
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s San Diego office has announced that more than 220 walkers already are registered its 2013 annual Southern Californian Challenge Walk, a three-day, 50-mile fundraising walk from Sept. 27 to 29 along the coastline starting at Carlsbad’s Flower Fields and ending in Downtown San Diego. The National MS Society’s Pacific South Coast Chapter said about 80 of the 220 walkers preparing for September’s 12th annual Challenge Walk have MS, a chronic, unpredictable and disabling disease of the central nervous system with no known cause, cure or prevention.
The fundraiser has a goal this year of raising $1 million for MS research and programs and services for Southern Californians living with MS. The minimum donation required to walk in the 2013 Challenge Walk MS is $2,500 per person, which includes overnight hotel accommodations, meals and entertainment. The fundraising minimum for walkers between ages 10 and 16 is $1,500. Registration information is available at www.MyMSChallenge.com, or phone Jennifer West, special events senior director, at (760) 448-8435.
The Challenge Walk’s day #1, 20-mile walk will begin at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad and end at the San Diego Marriott Del Mar Hotel. The day #2, 20-mile walk will begin at the hotel and end at Sunset Point in Mission Bay, where buses will shuttle walkers back to the hotel for a dinner and entertainment. The final day #3, 10-mile walk will begin at Sunset Point and end around noontime at Embarcadero Marina Park South, located behind the San Diego Convention Center in Downtown San Diego.