American Lung Association's Radnor Run – Sunday, October 31

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The Main Line community has been working for 44 years to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through the American Lung Association’s annual Radnor Run. With lung disease on the rise through COVID-19 and youth vaping, this tradition is now more important than ever.

Over the years, the American Lung Association has funded local clinical trials and research related to lung disease and lung cancer at Temple Lung Center, Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson University. This research, happening in our backyard, is helping community members like Betsy of Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Like most grandmothers, Betsy has spent countless hours on the sidelines of soccer, softball, football and hockey games, rooting for her four grandchildren. Attending local sporting events became a hurdle for Betsy when she began having shortness of breath. Her symptoms, which she first thought was pneumonia, were diagnosed by her pulmonologist at the Temple Lung Center as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a disease that scars the lungs and has no known cause, an incomprehensible and devastating diagnosis.

Lung damage from IPF gets worse over time. In some cases, it can be slowed by medications but for some patients, a lung transplant is eventually the only option for survival. As Betsy’s IPF continued to progress, she learned that in order for her to return to the sidelines to cheer for her grandchildren, her only option was a lung transplant.

After much time and uncertainty, Betsy finally received the call that a suitable donor was identified. “My prayers were answered,” she says. Betsy received a successful double lung transplant and has been enjoying her life to the fullest ever since. “I do things now that I never did in my whole life. I walk four miles a day and I would have never done that before the transplant,” says Betsy.

The 2021 Radnor Run participants continue to help improve the lives of those in our community affected by lung disease – and you can too. The 44th Annual Radnor Run is a timed and certified 5-mile race on a challenging course through the beautiful backroads of Wayne, PA. The Radnor Run has added an untimed 2-Mile Trail Walk for families on the historic Radnor Trail; and a half-mile Fun Run for kids 12 and under.

Registrants can also opt to participate virtually in their own neighborhoods. All registered participants are encouraged to join the event’s Facebook group for training tips and event updates. Support the lung health of your community and join us at Lung.org/radnorrun.

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