VICTORIA, BC- On July 26, Jerry Hughes and his coach, Yana Hempler, will be running 60k from Duncan to Victoria in order to raise funds and awareness for Help Fill a Dream. Hughes and his siblings were born with a rare disease called Gardner’s Syndrome. This disease took his father’s life at an early age of 33, since it was not diagnosed early enough. Gardner’s Syndrome is both a rare and aggressive genetic disorder, which means that if it’s not detected early, the prognosis is not good, with the average life expectancy of 35-45 years old.
Jerry’s fitness journey began about 2 years ago. He started with bootcamp, then went on to Fight 4 The Cause, which transformed his life both physically and mentally.
Shortly thereafter, he entered the TC 10k and then Oak Bay half, completing the two distances in 44:43 and 1:40:43, respectively. “These are not typical times for first time 10k and half marathon runners,” said coach Yana Hempler.
“At that point, I realized that I had some natural ability as a runner, but needed help, so I got Yana Hempler to coach me. I have done a series of runs since then and I keep on getting better. Now, I’m doing marathons and ultra marathons as well as many other races. I’m doing it to show my sons, who have a 50% chance of getting my disease, to not let the illness define their life but that they should carve their own path regardless of the circumstances,” said Hughes.
Jerry Hughes is using running to work for a charity that’s close to his heart, Help Fill a Dream Foundation. His disorder is so rare that he and his siblings went on a dream vacation to Disney Land when they were teenagers.
“I’m extremely proud of the progress that Jerry has made since we started working together. He improved his TC 10k time by 5 minutes and took over 12 minutes off his half marathon time. I’m excited to be a part of his journey because I know that he is going places. He never gives up until he achieves his goals, never makes excuses and that’s admirable,” said Yana Hempler when asked about what it’s like to work with Hughes.
Jerry’s goal is to inspire other people who have rare disorders to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams.”The mind is a powerful tool and you can do anything you want in life. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. Carve your own path and you will inspire the world,” stated Jerry Hughes.
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Those interested in making a donation or sponsoring the run can do so through Canada Helps or contact Jerry Hughes at jhugh30 (at) hotmail (dot) com
For media relations contact Yana Hempler at yhempler (at) gmail (dot) com
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