Sometimes on race day you just don't have "it". Real runners show their metal when they tough out a bad day. Team CMT member Gary Krukar had a tough day at the Fort Atkinson Half Marathon on June 18th. He fought a bad case of allergies, heat, humidity and 6 miles of hills to finish the 13 mile course. His legs felt aweful but he toughed it out to get the finisher medal he is proudly displaying. When you have a tough race it makes the accomplisment even sweeter.
I met Gary and his wife Jane at a CMTA support group meeting. Jane is a walker and often walks the races Gary runs. Gary 42 of Eagle has been running for about 5 years and has been competing for the last 2. Gary was motivated to join Team CMT because his wife Jane has CMT. He supports our mission of creating awarness of CMT and hopefully to fund a cure!
Gary has a busy racing season planned. He will be running the Rock and Sole Summerfest Half Marathon with teammates Cheryl Monnat, Chris Wodke and Kevin Klein. He also plans to run a number of other half marathons including; Madison Mini, Lake Country Half, Tyrennea Half. He will end up the season with the Lakefront Discovery run at the end of October.
Gary's goal is to beat 1:45 for a half marathon and to run Lakefront Marathon next year!
Gary attended UW-Whitewater majoring in writing and communications. He works for Strategem Inc running their Learning Services business. He specialized in documentation, training and user performance support.
When Gary isn't running he reads, plays golf, lifts weights, watches the Brewers and spends time with his family. He and his wife Jane have two children, Taylor and Joe.
Thanks Gary for your support! I'm proud to have you and Jane on the team and look forward to seeinig more racing success!
Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com
Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. 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.
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