Run, Walk, Bike-a-Thon coming up soon

There is about a week left to sign up for Parkinson’s Families of Northwest Kansas' second annual Run, Walk, Bike-a-thon, which starts at 10 a.m. next Saturday, April 30.

The event helps raise money for the group's free activities for people with Parkinson's and essential tremors.

For this event, founder Elaine Ptacek said, registration will stay open during check-in from 9 to 10 a.m. for anyone signing up late. All walkers, runners and bikers will check in during that time at the Steve Lampe Athletic Center at Colby Community College.

“It is our second annual fundraiser for our Parkinson's Families of Northwest Kansas,” Ptacek said, “and those funds we use to help pay for free activities for anyone in the nine-county area (around Colby) that has Parkinson's, essential tremors, plus their caregivers or family.”

Those counties include Thomas, Decatur, Rawlins, Cheyenne, Sherman, Wallace, Logan, Gove and Sheridan, she added.

The group has every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon that help with the effects of Parkinson's and essential tremors. These exercises activate both sides of the brain, such as art, music, physical therapy and support groups.

April is especially special for this event because it is Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

Cost for the walk-run is a $40 registration fee; early registration is available at the website www.movingtolive.org. Those that do not want to participate in the event but still want to donate can do that at the website.

Parkinson’s Families started in July 2020 as a group of people that either had Parkinson’s or were caregivers of those with the disease. They started the walk-run the last year and raised $7,000 with about 40 participants, Ptacek said.

For information, call her at 785-443-3439. For questions about the group, she said, to go to its website or Facebook page.