I'm so excited to say that we completed 32.0 MILES (John's high school basketball and favorite number)! We are so grateful and proud of how this run turned out! It was an awesome day and an amazing experience that was shared with many close friends and family. Thank you again for help making this event so special!

My name is Jackson Strong, a former collegiate basketball player and recent graduate from Humboldt State University. My father, John Strong, also a former collegiate basketball player from the University of Akron was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2019. He is a man that has been dedicated to physical fitness his whole life. Whether it be playing basketball, swimming, biking, or running, he has always been the person to try and push himself as far as he can. He still continues to push himself each and every day, but ALS is quickly deteriorating his abilities.

For those of you who are not familiar with the disease, ALS is a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles that results in losing the ability to walk, speak, and swallow. There is no cure and the cause is unknown.

After completing my first half marathon with my friend Ian Aschieris, we began discussing how we could tie together our dedication to fitness and a way to raise money for ALS research. We have decided to run on October 11th in honor of my father, John Strong. Our goal is to run at least 20 miles, which would be the farthest we have ever gone. We are reaching out to all of our friends, family, co-workers, and anyone who would like to pledge a donation. $1, $3, $5, or $10+ per mile, or a flat contribution with all of the money benefiting the ALS Association - San Diego Chapter.

If you are interested in sponsoring Jackson and Ian on October 11th please email jsrunforals@gmail.com with your per mile pledge or flat contribution. Jackson will be logging the information and will email you after the run is complete and walk you through how to donate.

Please forward this email to anyone and everyone that you feel may be interested in helping support this cause. Together, we can fight to find a cure.

Please check with your employer to see if they provide a match donation program for non-profit organizations.

Every pledge is greatly appreciated. We encourage you to run/walk on this day in honor of John to support ALS research and awareness and post it with #JSRUNFORALS

Prefer to make a donation by check? Print and submit this form with your gift.