Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon: A Mile a Day Keeps Retinal Disease Away

Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon: A Mile a Day Keeps Retinal Disease Away

August 4, 2015

by Mark Dunning

Did you know that regular exercise may actually help you keep your vision longer? It’s true. A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that mice that did aerobic exercise had retinal function and photoreceptor numbers that were twice that of mice that did not exercise.

So joining us for the Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon is not only a way to raise awareness about Usher syndrome, it may also be helping protect your vision.

So what is a mile-a-thon? Well, a marathon is 26.2 miles long. So is the Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon. The difference is that in a marathon you run all those miles at once. In the Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon you run or walk the 26.2 miles over 26 days. And you can run or walk those 26.2 miles right in your hometown.

Here’s how it works:

1. Beginning on August 25th, pop outside of your place of residence or hop on the treadmill at the gym and walk or run one mile (at least) every day.
2. Before and after each walk or run, be sure to share pictures and your thoughts on Usher syndrome and the Mile-a-thon on social media using the hashtag #USHEQX
3. By September 19th, our Own the Equinox Usher syndrome awareness day, you will have covered 25 miles (at least) in 25 days. You will also have spent nearly a month telling the world about your experiences and Usher syndrome. To celebrate, help us to Own the Equinox by running or walking the final 1.2 miles on Usher syndrome awareness day.
4. If you are up for a bigger challenge, you can help raise money for the Usher Syndrome Coalition while you raise awareness about Usher syndrome. Simply set up a fundraising page here then share it with friends and family. Ask them to contribute and/or to share it with others.
5. And if you are up for an even bigger challenge, you can join us in Fairbanks, Alaska for the Equinox Marathon. Learn more here.

We will help with suggested tweets, posts, and other content but it’s important that it come from you. It’s even more important that you get out there and do that mile a day every day. And it would be best if you just keep going. Our goal is to save the vision of people with Usher syndrome. You can help yourself by exercising regularly. Raising awareness on the way will only help.

We strongly encourage children to get involved. The Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon is modeled on the Equinox Kid’s Marathon. In fact, children doing the Own the Equinox Mile-a-thon should also register for the Equinox Kid’s Marathon. Without having to fly to Alaska, they will get some goodies sent to them all the way from Fairbanks, Alaska courtesy of the organizers of the Equinox Marathon. To find out more about the Equinox Kid’s Marathon, click here.

We’re looking forward to you practicing good physical and retinal health while helping us Own the Equinox to raise awareness of Usher syndrome. More to come…