Rose Bowl

WalkMS – In a Dress and Heels – Yes, really!


Walking

Originally uploaded by Corey Blake

On April 18, 2010, it really happened. I walked the entire 3.2-mile WalkMS in a dress and high heels. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could walk the whole way with the shoes, and seriously considered taking them off a couple of times. But I knew that at the end of the Walk, I can take the shoes off and the discomfort would eventually go away. My wife, and everyone else with multiple sclerosis, doesn’t have that luxury. So I just kept walking. One step at a time.

Thank you so much for everyone who sponsored me – your donation is helping to make the National MS Society an even better resource for people with multiple sclerosis. Thank you very much for everyone who walked with me on our team – I’m glad you didn’t mind going so slow. Thank you to everyone who has enthusiastically responded to this whole thing – every message I received really inspired and touched me. Thank you to Lan Yin “Eiko” Tsai for inspiring the look of my ensemble. And most of all, thank you to my wife for encouraging me and understanding the very serious ‘why’ behind this silliness.

(And… Psssst! If you would still like to donate, it’s not too late! We’re able to accept donations until June 1.)

Click on the Flickr set on the right to check out all of the pictures.

Photos by Rose Kwasnicki, Nahleen Blake and Michelle Hazan (and a few by me).

WalkMS in a Dress and Heels – The Video

To get involved, visit My WalkMS Page – http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/corey.blake

Greater LA WalkMS 2009

MSwalk09-feetI just got back from a nice long weekend vacation to the Sequoia National Park. Absolutely stunning and wonderfully relaxing. Just what we needed.

While walking along trails weaving around mammoth trees thousands of years old, I was sometimes reminded of the last time Nahleen and I did some heavy walking. 

It’s been about a month since the WalkMS event for Greater Los Angeles. We walked the same path as last year, but the Rose Bowl was much hotter. And of course, the current financial End Times made fundraising more challenging. Despite that, our team still managed to raise $10,000. And where people couldn’t donate, they were inspired to support us in other ways, either by walking with us, walking at local events in their neighborhood, talking about MS to others, or sending encouraging thoughts our way. Everything made a difference.

Like last year, the money we raise will go directly to fighting multiple sclerosis and providing resources to making daily life easier for those with MS.

Once again our friend Rose Kwasnicki and her camera was there with us. Here’s some choice moments.

(Oh and yes, those are Nahleen’s feet at the top picture.)

 

MSwalk09-teamHere is us with the rest of TeamMS. Lots of people came back from last year and we also had some new faces! Great team and great group of people! Kelly Garver (center with the black shirt) was a great captain. Zena Leigh returned with her husband Conor Logan of The Logan. 

Of course, we weren’t the only people there. 

MSwalk09-crowdHey, down in front! There’s always that guy.

MSwalk09-vipBecause of our mighty fundraising efforts from last year, Nahleen and I were given special VIP passes. This gave us access to a special tent with refreshments, food and, most valuable of all, shade. 

It also made us frighteningly cheery.

MSwalk09-coreynahleenvip… although everyone around us was pretty much ambivalent.

Once we composed ourselves, we were back to the task at hand. Walking!

MSwalk09-nahleenteamwalkWe sure look happy and energetic. Nothing can stop us!

MSwalk09-teambreakOK… so maybe we took a little break. But it wasn’t our fault. It would never have happened if it wasn’t for all that walking. And the hot hotness. And not the sexy kind of hot hotness, but the temperature kind where you get unsexy hot. For further proof, there’s this:

MSwalk09-coreyhot

But we got back on our feet and made it to the finish line!

MSwalk09-nahleenfinishHere’s Nahleen at the finish line getting her Medallion of Walkery! 

Exhausting yet inspiring. Thank you to everyone who participated in some way. And congratulations to those who walked. Each foot step is bringing us closer to putting multiple sclerosis in its place, and giving hope and strength to those who live with it still.

Stand and Fight – WalkMS 2008

On April 6th, 2008, the Walk MS event was held at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in southern California. Nahleen Blake, co-captain of the National MS Society’s TeamMS who has MS herself, walked to raise money to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis. She brought some cameras to follow her on the 5K walk.

Her team helped raise nearly $17,000 for the National MS Society. The event itself raised over $1.3 million.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society funds more MS research than any other private organization. In addition to supporting studies which hope to reveal the cause and course of the disease, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society also provides much needed education, programs, and services to everyone who is affected by MS – including the diagnosed, their friends and families, and the healthcare professionals who work with them.

Please visit http://www.nmss.org for more information.
Please visit http://main.nationalmssociety.org/sit… for more information on the April 6th Walk.
Also, here’s more pictures from the Walk. 

The song used in this video is “Stand and Fight” by James Taylor from the 1981 album, Dad Loves His Work.

Greater LA MS Walk 2008

On Sunday, April 6th, I participated in this year’s Greater Los Angeles MS Walk. Held by the National MS Society, the 5k walk helps to raise money to battle multiple sclerosis.

My wife Nahleen Blake was diagnosed with MS in 2002. This year she was invited by the National MS Society to co-captain their new team for the walk. The TeamMS – Greater LA gives people a team to join if they are participating in the Walk and want to be on a team but don’t have one. Soon the team had 25 members, including myself and former fellow Foe Pa‘ers Zena Leigh and Aaron Lyons. Together, we raised over $15,000. And money is still coming in. (4/21 Generosity update: Our total is now over $16,500!) That money will go to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis. It will also go to finding better treatment for people living with MS, including programs and events that help make the day-to-day struggles easier.

If you’d like to donate, it’s not too late. Donations for our efforts in the MS Walk will be accepted until May 23, 2008. Click here to donate.

Fellow walker Rose Kwasnicki took some great pictures of our walk. (Thank you, Rose!) Click through for the pictures along with my commentary. (more…)