Keeping arthritis away

Running a marathon a day for four months would be a personal hell for many people. Patrick McGlade is the opposite.

The 21-year-old will begin a cross-country trip at 8 a.m. Jan. 2 at Bella Terra and end in Georgia on the Atlantic Coast, a 2,400-mile trek along the southern portion of the United States, to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.

“It’s going to be difficult,” McGlade said in a phone interview from his home state of Virginia. “The idea of challenging myself to do things most people don’t get to do interests me.”

McGlade is an ultra-marathon runner, placing in or winning a handful of races this year by running for hours, sometimes more than 100 miles.

His goal is to raise $50,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. He has raised about $5,000 so far.

“He just really wants to do it for the kids that can’t experience the exhilaration of running,” said McGlade’s aunt, Victoria Muschek.

Arthritis was something McGlade thought everyone eventually got when they were older, but he learned kids were also affected by the disease.

“Patrick was really surprised. It was kind of a new realization for him,” said his mother, Susie McGlade.

His cousin was diagnosed with a juvenile form of the disease, and he also got to know the 11-year-old granddaughter of a family friend with it. The girl is in a significant amount of pain most of the time, he said.

“I thought it was just an old person’s disease ... so many people get it, and there’s not an actual cure,” he said.

McGlade will be jogging with nothing but a baby stroller full of supplies. He estimates he will need $8,000 for food and equipment alone — he will go through six pairs of shoes in the four months. He plans to carry a loaf of bread, peanut butter, a nutritional supplement and his debit card.

Food is his mother’s biggest concern. She is worried he won’t be able to eat enough food to maintain his weight. He will need to eat 6,000 calories a day, she said.

McGlade said he will be camping out most of the time, but members of the Arthritis Foundation will be hosting him for the night, or giving him a hot meal or shower, as he makes his way across America.

“I’m a little anxious about the unknown, but it’s not a significant fear,” he said.

While McGlade is trying to raise money for research and treatment for arthritis, he also wants to inspire kids to exercise more.

“I’d love to see more kids get up and go,” he said.

McGlade is focused on how he wants his trip to impact others, but Muschek said it is going to have a profound effect on him as well.

“I truly believe this is going to change his life,” she said.

How To Help

Donate at way.to/patricksrun4arthritis

Follow his blog at www.patricksrunblog.blogspot.com