by Pamela LeBlanc on austin360.com
published March 16, 2012
Imagine running under a full moon, through the Texas Hill Country, past mooing cows and howling coyotes you can’t even see.
After 5 or 6 miles, a glowing light appears in the distance. As you get closer, you see a cluster of vans pulled off the road. Your friends are there, sipping coffee and urging you on. When you finally reach them, you tag one of your teammates, who starts running through the night.
On April 28 and 29, several hundred athletes will run 90 miles from Enchanted Rock State Natural Area to Austin during the Run to the Sun.
The event raises funds for Beyond Batten Disease Foundation, a non-profit, Austin-based organization that raises money to fight Batten disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.
During the first-ever Run to the Sun last year, runners sped from Mount Bonnell in Austin to Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg, where they finished just as the sun rose over the huge granite dome. This year, they’re reversing course, starting in the country and finishing in the city.
Lance Thompson started the race to draw attention to the disease that affected Christiane Benson, the daughter of Austin couple Craig and Charlotte Benson. The disease, which affects children born to parents who unknowingly carry a gene mutation, starts with vision loss and seizures, but eventually causes mental and physical disabilities. Victims die by the time they reach their late teens or early 20s.
Running through the night symbolizes what Christiane and others who have the disease go through as they lose their sight.
“It’s supposed to be hard. That’s what she’s going through,” says Paige Alam, who ran the relay last year and plans to run again this year.
Teams of eight, each with two accompanying support vehicles, run a total of 16 legs. Runners wear reflective vests and blinking lights, and signs warn motorists that they are on the road. Starts are staggered, based on seed times. Last year’s winners held a 7-minute per mile pace. Last year’s event drew 25 teams; more are expected in 2012.
“It’s like a traveling circus,” Thompson says.
The race will end with a pancake-fueled, music-infused celebration at Laguna Gloria. The Bensons will speak about their daughter and the foundation.
The event offers a closer-to-home option than other overnight relays, such as the popular Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon. “This is like running a mini version of it, it’s here and it’s raising money for people here,” Alam says.
Run to the Sun raised about $240,000 last year. Entry fee is $85 per person this year, and each team pledges to raise $5,000 for Beyond Batten. To register or for more information go here.
“You’re competing with people and running with a team, but you’re all supporting the same cause,” says safety coordinator Jay Hillscher.
The Bensons established Beyond Batten Disease Foundation in August 2008 after Christiane was diagnosed with Batten disease. Since then, the foundation has developed a comprehensive carrier screening test to detect genetic mutations that cause Batten disease and more than 600 other rare conditions.
Christianne is now a 9-year-old third-grader at Casis Elementary. Two teams of teachers plan to run in her honor.