Why We Race

Join the Fight

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy's (PPMD) mission is to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder that slowly robs people's muscle strength. Those with Duchenne are in a race against time as their muscles deteriorate further each day.

Duchenne is the most common muscular dystrophy in children. It is a progressive disorder that causes muscles to become weaker over time until it affects the whole body. Duchenne is not contagious. About one out of every 5,000 boys has Duchenne, and about 20,000 babies worldwide are born with it each year. Duchenne primarily affects boys and reaches across all races and cultures. PPMD estimates about 15,000 young men and a few young women are living with Duchenne today in the United States.

Over the past 20 years, MRTR has included over 10,000 participants, 1,000 volunteers, and several thousand spectators, raising over $1,000,000. Classic Race Management has designated Mitchell's Run Thru Rockford as "One of the Premier Running Events in West Michigan."

Mitchell, age 23

Mitchell Peterson, age 23, attending MRTR 2018. Mitchell was diagnosed with Duchenne shortly before his 3rd birthday.

Children with Duchenne from West Michigan

MRTR raises additional funding for PPMD in honor of Mitchell and the dozens of other children with Duchenne from West Michigan.

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Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

All research through PPMD focuses on Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy. Duchenne is a fatal genetic disorder that slowly robs people's muscle strength. PPMD fights every single battle necessary to end Duchenne: They accelerate research, raise community voices to impact policy, demand optimal care standards, and ensure every family has access to expert healthcare providers, cutting-edge treatments, and a community of support. They invest deeply in treatments for this generation of Duchenne patients and research that will benefit future generations. Their advocacy efforts have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and won two FDA approvals.

Join The Fight