My name is Elsha Stockseth and I am 30 years old. I had a pretty normal childhood. I did pretty much what every other kid does. I was born the same way, was raised by a mom and dad with my older sister and brother, played the same things as the other kids, and ate the same things as the other kids. When I was 11 months old when my parents found out that I had Muscular Dystrophy. A few years ago one of my Facebook friends posted that they were putting a Ragnar team team together and if anybody else was interested please leave a message. I wrote I do, LOL! just to be funny since I obviously can't run. Her and her husband, being the sweet people they are, said no that they would seriously love to push me in some races. We did our first 5k race a few months later and the rest is history. It will be 4 years ago this august from my first race. My friends and I think it would be awesome to run the Boston Marathon, although it would take a little work to travel there, it would be amazing! I have done 3 full marathons and quite a few half marathons. It seems kind of silly that I would love to race especially since I am not even running but I do it to be with friends who have become my family. So while I don't actually run I love being able to inspire my teammates and the other runners to never let anybody stop them and never to quit. There are 2 song lyrics from my friend Bono of U2 that simply answer the question as to why I run. "I want to run I want to hide I want to tear down the walls That hold me inside... from Where the Streets Have No Name." There is no failure here sweetheart Just when you quit... from Miracle Drug. I have a few friends right now going through cancer and I am doing this in honor of them. Love you Chad, Julie, Carol and Mary
The AF Canyon Run Against Cancer is all about running for a cause. Each person runs for their own reason — and we’d love to hear about it! Connect with us and share your experiences using hashtag #afcanyonrun #whywerun.