Ryanne Conquers the “Dirty Dozen”

We are sending a huge “congratulations” out to Team PHenomenal Hope member, Ryanne, for

tackling – and conquering – Pittsburgh’s 12 steepest hills for the second time in the Dirty Dozen annual bicycle competition. Ryanne won the women's category, after enduring near-freezing weather, a few broken bike parts and even a bad case of nausea!

The Dirty Dozen competition began in 1983 and has occurred annually since then on the Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving. In order to finish the Dirty Dozen, riders must ride completely up each of the 12 hills without stopping – or crashing! If a rider fails to maintain a continuous uphill momentum, they must go back to the bottom of that hill and start again. Read more about the Dirty Dozen

Ryanne’s win was a huge feat, and we can’t wait to see her, and the rest of Team PHenomenal Hope, take on Race Across America in June. You can read a detailed account of Ryanne’s experience conquering the Dirty Dozen on the Team PHenomenal Hope blog.

PH Patient Plans to Bike 3,000 miles in Unity Miles Challenge

'Tis the season ... of giving!

Pulmonary hypertension patient, Kathleen Richardson, recently kicked off a virtual fundraising challenge in support of the Race of Our Lives campaign and our friends, Team PHenomenal Hope. Between Nov. 1, 2013 and June 14, 2014, Kathleen plans to ride 3,000 miles on bike, which for anyone — especially a PH patient — is quite a feat! Her goal is to raise $3,000 — $1 for each mile that she rides, which will help support PH research and programs for patients. To meet that goal, Kathleen is asking friends, family, community members — basically anyone and everyone — to give a donation to her virtual page.

Recently, Kathleen was a featured story on Team PHenomenal Hope's blog. The team interviewed Kathleen and got the inside scoop on her diagnosis story and how cycling fits into her life. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

How and when did you start cycling?
I always loved riding my bike as a kid. I loved to just take off on long rides and did that on and off up through college, but was not really what I would call a “serious” cyclist (not sure I’m a “serious” cyclist still ... but I love to ride!). I started riding with a purpose after I was diagnosed with PH.

Want to learn more about Kathleen? Head over to Team PHenomenal Hope's blog to read on!

Interested in starting your own virtual fundraising page to support the Race of Our Lives campaign? Learn more and get started.

Sponsor a Mile Update: East Coast Going Far!

Get your name on the map!

The Race of Our Lives campaign has officially sold out one full region on the “Sponsor a Mile” map. What does this mean? All 750 miles in the East Coast region have been sponsored, bringing more financial support to pulmonary hypertension research and patient-serving programs. Thank you to everyone who sponsored a mile – or miles – in the region.

More than 1,200 total miles have been sponsored so far – and there are still miles left! Help us sell out the rest of the race route across the Pacific Coast, West and Midwest regions. Every mile counts – and every mile brings us one step closer to finding a cure.

Spread the word about the Race of Our Lives campaign! Just $15 will sponsor one mile and help support vital PH research and programs for patients. For more information on sponsoring a mile, visit: www.PHAssociation.org/RaceOfOurLives/SponsorAMile.

Studying Muscles can Give Team PHenomenal Hope a "Leg Up" in Race

Race Across America in June 2014 will challenge Team PHenomenal Hope members both mentally and physically. But by studying the mechanics of their muscles, the team will be better positioned to excel during the race. That is where Jim Bruskewitz comes in! Jim joins Team PHenomenal Hope as a coach and will take on the primary role of preparing the team for the race through different training activities.

Jim earned an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and for the past 15 years, he has taught at the University in the Department of Kinesiology. Kinesiology is the study of the mechanics and anatomy of human muscle – and Team PHenomenal Hope will surely be using a lot of muscles in the race! Jim also boasts an impressive coaching background, having worked with endurance athletes for more than 25 years. Personally, he is a two-time World Champion and eight-time National Age Group Champion in triathlons.

Working with Team PHenomenal Hope, Jim plans to create a master training plan for all the riders to follow. “This will promote the team approach to reaching their goals collectively and individually,” says Jim. He also adds that each team member will be working on her own level, which is gauged based on results from physiologic testing. This will allow the members to make progress in their training as efficiently as possible.

Over the next few months, Jim will be working with the team to understand their strengths and weaknesses to prepare them for RAAM. He mentions, “The physiologic preparation is the easy part, as long as the athletes are committed to spending the time to prepare.” He says that for a long competition like RAAM, simple things such as eating, sleeping and keeping track of personal items in the support vehicles can be the biggest challenge for the athletes. Jim adds, “I hope to help them identify what their challenges will be so they can best adapt to the ever-changing conditions they'll find themselves in.”

Jim is excited to be on board as part of Team PHenomenal Hope, and we are just as excited to cheer him, and the rest of the team, on! You can read about Team PHenomenal Hope’s plan for training throughout the winter season in the Winter issue of Pathlight, PHA’s quarterly newsletter, coming in January. Pathlight is one of the benefits you'll receive as an official PHA member, so join or renew your membership by December 10, to ensure you receive the next issue!

To learn more about Team PHenomenal Hope and how you can get involved in the Race of Our Lives campaign, visit www.PHAssociation.org/RaceOfOurLives. 

On Bikes, On Foot... PH Activists Tackle High Endurance Races

As we watch Team Phenomenal Hope gear up for the Race Across America (RAAM) in June 2014, we can’t help but be amazed at the extreme things people have done on behalf of the PH community.

Anthony Sheridan of the UK participated in the Marathon de Sables—six days of marathons – across the Sahara Desert earlier this year on behalf of PHA UK. The Marathon de Sables is considered the toughest footrace in the world, and the course tops 150 miles across sand dunes in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! More than 1000 individuals competed in the 2013 marathon – which was a new participation record.

If Anthony can take on the Marathon de Sables, anything is possible! Read more about Anthony and his journey on behalf of PHA UK.

 

You too can join in a race on behalf of the PH community! Plan a Unity Miles event to support Team PHenomenal Hope through the Race of Our Lives campaign. Unity Miles events don’t need to be a cross-country race or an endurance event, just an opportunity to gather together while raising awareness and funds for the PH cause. Learn more about planning a Unity Miles event at www.PHAssociation.org/RaceOfOurLives/UnityMilesEvents.

Awareness Month Unity Miles Events!

Unity Miles event organizer and PH patient
Merle Reeseman with Team PHenomenal Hope
members Ryanne Palermo and Dr. Patricia George

People in the PH community are showing their support of Team PHenomenal Hope by organizing Unity Miles events this Awareness Month in honor of the Race of Our Lives campaign. These events not only raise awareness for PH, but also the funds necessary to support research and patient-serving programs.

These Unity Miles events are coming up in November:

Roger Wood’s Marathon 

Nov. 10, 2014

Naperville, Ill.

Puyallup Six-Minute Marathon

Nov. 16, 2014
Puyallup, Wash.

Alex Flipse’s 30 Miles in 30 Days
Month of November
Silver Spring, Md.

Interested in planning your own United Miles event? PHA will be your pit crew! Visit www.PHAssociation.org/RaceOfOurLives/UnityMilesEvents to learn more about organizing an event in your local community.

Dynamic Duo Dedicated Month of Walking to Race of Our Lives

Diane Ramirez and Janet McCabe are two PH patients from N.C., who, like other PH community members from all over, have embraced Team PHenomenal Hope and its goal of racing 3,000 miles across the U.S. in nine days to raise awareness and funds for pulmonary hypertension (PH) research and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).

Diane Ramirez and Janet set their own challenge alongside Team PHenomenal Hope. This dynamic duo dedicated an entire month of walking to the PH community and the Race of Our Lives campaign. In their 30-day challenge, Diane and Janet planned to walk 100 miles collectively, while raising $1,500 for PHA.

Diane and Janet at the zebra
exhibit at the zoo.

These ladies challenged themselves to complete their goals by Oct. 24, and we cheered them on every step – and mile – of the way! They even took their challenge to the North Carolina zoo, where they walked more than six miles together and even stopped to take photos outside the zebra exhibit, a reminder of PHA’s zebra-themed early diagnosis campaign, Sometimes it’s PH.

We are happy to report that together they met their goal!

Want to support Race of Our Lives, yourself or with others? Learn how you can start your own virtual fundraising page. It’s as easy as including information about PH and PHA on your page, choosing a fundraising goal and sending the link out to your family and friends. PHA staff is on hand to give you pointers and to help you get started.

You can also consider planning a Unity Miles Event in your local area to empower your community to join the Race of Our Lives campaign and support PHA and Team PHenomenal Hope. With PHA staff as your pit crew, learn more about how you can plan a Unity Miles Event and help raise awareness and funds for the cause.

Special Opportunity from Team PHenomenal Hope!

Team PHenomenal Hope sporting it's
jerseys and shorts.

Have you seen Team PHenomenal Hope sporting their stylish jerseys and shorts and wondered if you could get a set of your own? Now you can!

Team PHenomenal Hope has arranged for an opportunity to purchase replica jerseys and shorts so you can wear your support of the team. These are replicas of the actual uniforms that the team wears. This is a special sale for Team PHenomenal Hope followers, since so many of you wanted your own gear!

This opportunity is available through Primal Store, but only until Oct. 19. You can purchase your replica jersey for $70, or shorts for $110. Additional shipping charges of $10 will apply.

Primal Store will donate 15 percent of the proceeds from sales of Team PHenomenal Hope gear to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

To purchase your own jersey or shorts, visit the Team PHenomenal Hope PrimalStore. You will need to create an account to place your order.

Please note that all custom team store products are pre-orders. All orders will be put into production once the store closes and will be delivered in approximately 10-12 weeks. Items listed in Primal Store show as men's sizes but please consider them unisex.

Replica Jersey

Replica Shorts