Running for awareness: Teen continues recovery at Red Balloon Run and Ride

Three years ago, Annie Altizer was paralyzed from the waist down due to the sudden onset of transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disorder.

This Saturday, the McKinney Boyd sophomore will be competing in the 1K run at the annual Red Balloon Run and Ride at Children's Medical Center's Legacy Campus in Plano. Altizer, 16, said she hopes to improve on her 2011 time by finishing in less than 20 minutes.

"I definitely want to make everyone more aware of what transverse myelitis is and to raise money for Children's so that people can be diagnosed faster and have a better chance of recovering," Altizer said. "I am pretty confident this year. I am not sure I'll meet my goal, but I am pretty sure I'll finish."

Prior to being diagnosed, Altizer was an active soccer player. While she is not able to play soccer again quite yet, she is able to walk with a cane and also has recently begun jogging on a treadmill.

Altizer has also stayed involved in the sport she loves, serving as a team manager at McKinney Boyd and coaching a team of 9 year olds.

"When I was first diagnosed, I thought it would be too painful to go back and do anything involving soccer," she said. "But my doctor told me I had to stay involved and that it would make me feel better emotionally. I took his advice and it has definitely helped me so much."

Altizer's team is just one of nearly 150 teams that have signed up to participate in the event, with all of the money going to Children's Medical Center. Altizer's team, The Re-Myelinators, have already raised $31,800, surpassing its goal of $30,000. Altizer has also surpassed her personal goal, raising $25,520 on her own.

The event is organized by Passion for Children's, a nonprofit dedicated to raising money for the hospital. The foundation has raised more than $1.7 million since 2009, and Executive Director Preston Walhood said events such as the Red Balloon Run and Ride are a big part of that.

Money raised by The Re-Myelinators will go to the hospital's neurology department, but Lori Waggoner, the hospital's director of development, said each team can dictate where their money goes. Past donations have gone toward cancer research, as well as sending patients to camps where they meet other children with a similar diagnosis.

"This is our third year, and this year we added a bicycle component," Waggoner said. "In addition to the run and walk events, we are having 5K, 30K and 100K rides. Last year we had about 5,000 people participate and raised almost $420,000, and this year with the cycling component we would love to double that."

Online registration lasts until Oct. 18, and while Waggoner said they encourage people to sign up in advance, registrations will also be accepted on the day of the race.

When signing up, participants can choose to join an existing team, or launch their own. Registration fees are $35 in advance, and $40 the day of the event. A minimum donation of $100 is required from those participating in the cycling events. No minimum donation is required for the run and walk events.

The 5K run and walk will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the 1K fun run beginning at 10:30 a.m. All three bike rides begin at 7 a.m. with a bike rally. The official start of the rides is at 7:30 a.m.

Children's Medical Center's Legacy Campus is located at 7601 Preston Road near State Highway 121. For information on the event, visit www.redballoonevent.org. To donate to Altizer's team, visit the website and click "teams" in the top right corner.

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