Carl Johnson Memorial Race Raises $460 for ALS Research

Pinkham Notch, NH—Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center is pleased to announce that the Carl Johnson Memorial 5KM Freestyle Race held on Saturday, March 10, 2007 raised $460 for ALS research.

Carl Johnson, a great friend to Great Glen Trails and a lover of all things skiing, passed away last year of ALS. This new race at Great Glen Trails was part of Sun and Ski Day and drew more than 40 racers.

“I want to thank everyone at Great Glen Trails for honoring Carl in this way,” said Carl’s wife, Christine Fleming. “It was great to see so many people come out and help raise money for ALS.”

Because Carl loved loud racing tights and was a timing volunteer for many events at Great Glen Trails, along with the traditional award for the fastest time, prizes were awarded for wearing the loudest tights and guessing your race time. Walt Shepard won the race in 17 minutes, 7 seconds. Fred Allen won for loudest tights (attached), and Sean Doherty won for guessing closest to his actual time. The day also featured an ALS benefit raffle for a handcrafted, wooden bowl made by Great Glen Trails Ambassador Ed Good. Good crafted the bowl from a piece of wood collected by Great Glen Trails staffer Scott Emery. It was Emery’s idea to hold the race in honor of Johnson.

“Carl is missed at Great Glen Trails,” said Emery. “Through his love of the outdoors, he gave so much of himself, and we wanted to do something in his memory.”

Great Glen Trails plans to make the race an annual event.

About ALS:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected. There are currently no treatments that fully reverse the affects of ALS nor is there a cure.