Team CMT Celebrates Thanksgiving

" Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something."- unknown

Several Team CMT members kicked off their Thanksgiving by raising awareness of CMT by participating in several road races.  They could have been inside in the warm smelling that Turkey cooking, but they chose to brave the cold to represent Team CMT.

The events were largely family affairs and it is really great to see not only our Team CMT athletes out there, but there family members as well.

Team CMT Appleton
We had two Team CMT members represent us in Appleton Wisconsin
Dawn Frizell and Chris Steinke booth rane in the Turkey Trot in Appleton, Wisconsin.


 For Dawn it was a double holiday as she and her family celebrated Hannukkah and Thanksgiving. She says she thinks she needs to run a bit more to run off all the indulgences of the day.

For the Steinke family the Appleton race was a family event. Chris was joined by his family at the Appleton event.

I loved seeing the support Chris got from his family and he looks great in his Team CMT shirt. You all look awesome.  The support of family member's is so important.

Team CMT- Milwaukee
Milwaukee always comes through and Thanksgiving was no different.

Team CMT member Kevin Klein and his son Henry celebrated their Thanksgiving at the Mayor' Turkey Day 0 K in Kenosha Wisconsin. I've done this race in the past and it is a lot of fun.  Thanks guys, you look fast. Henry took 8th in his age group.  Way to go

Team Washington
Last but now least we have the OConnor family.   They ran the Turkey Trot in Longview, Washington. They said it was 3.5 chilly miles.

 Team members Alyson and Brooke were joined by soon to be members Jake and Jim. Alyson are one of two Mother Daughter teams and Brooke is our youngest member. Looking forward to having Jake and Jim on the team.

I am so thankful for all your effort  Thank you to everyone that has put on a Team CMT uniform this year for an event, shared blog posts, raised money for CMT research and recruited members for the team. I am so blessed to have all of you working with me.

At my bike class on Wednesday night the instructor asked all of us to name something were are thankful for. I said I was thankful because I could swim, bike and run. I have so many things to be thankful for.

Here are just a few from my list:
-Hereditary Neuropathy Sponsorship of Team CMT
- The 138 members of Team CMT
- Being able to still be active and participate in runs and triathlons.
-Publication of "Running for My Life" Winning for CMT.
-Spot on the US Team

It has a great year for the team. We have grown and are doing more and more events. Keep racing, posting pictures and telling everyone about it. Raising awareness of CMT is so important as we work to find treatments and a cure.
I want you all to be able to keep racing for many years.

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Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 137 members in 27 states. We also have members in Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland and Iran. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.