Thanks for visiting my fundraising page!

Family and Friends,

This year, I’ve committed to run the New York City Marathon as a member of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) team with the mission of finding a cure for ALS. The marathon takes place on Sunday, November, 5 and is 26.2 miles long across all five New York City boroughs.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS” or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) has had a significant impact on my life, as both my maternal grandmother, Phyllis McMahon, and my aunt, Anne Blanchard, passed away from ALS. ALS is a nervous system disease for which there is currently no cure. 

Phyllis passed away at the age of 49, when my mother was only 12 years old. While I never met Phyllis, I know she was loved by many as a wife, mother, daughter, and friend.

In July 2022, my Aunt Anne passed away from ALS after living a life full of love and adventure. She and her husband, Bruce, were avid ballroom dancers. At my cousin Kristin’s (Anne’s daughter) wedding in 2007, Aunt Anne spotted me on the dance floor moving unnaturally. She pulled me aside to give me a dancing pro-tip: I needed to move my hips more! Her advice has stuck with me ever since, although my execution is still far from perfect.

I am running in honor of Phyllis, Anne, and many others around the world who suffer from this terrible disease. I’m running to support research to find a cure so families will never have to lose a loved one to ALS. Please help me in my effort to spread awareness and to find a cure. 

ALS TDI is the most comprehensive drug discovery lab dedicated to ALS research. As one of the world’s only nonprofit biotech companies, ALS TDI is led by drug development experts and people with ALS. 

Thank you for your support and for joining the fight for ALS’s first survivor.

Sean