Ramon Sepulveda
Austin, TX
Ramon Sepulveda, at age 50, set a goal for himself — to run 12 marathons in 12 months. He began with the New York Marathon in November 2004. His Betaseron® Champions of Courage grant will help to cover his travel expenses.
Ramon is running to show that people with MS can accomplish amazing things. Ramon, a grandfather who works as a water treatment operator, was devastated when he was first diagnosed with MS in 1998. The hardest part was the unpredictable nature of the disease — not knowing if and when he would have a setback.
Instead of remaining depressed, he decided to forge ahead with his life — to do things he had always dreamed of, but never quite gotten around to doing. He realized that in order to fight this disease, he needed to stay as active as possible and make the most of each day. He started daily workouts at the gym and on his road bike. He also took long-awaited trips with his family and spent more time with his children.
In 2002, Ramon was part of a mountaineering team that attempted North America’s tallest mountain: Mt. Denali (Mt. McKinley) in Alaska, standing at 20,320 feet. The team included six people with MS. The May 2002 expedition was led by Betaseron Champions of Courage Board Chairman Eric Simons.
They hoped to be the first group of people with a serious, chronic disease to climb one of the world’s tallest mountains independent of able-bodied guides or climbing companions. After facing extreme winds and unusual weather conditions, Ramon and his fellow climbers made the difficult decision to end their bid for the summit of Denali. The Betaseron Champions of Courage program is proud of the Team's accomplishments and the inspiration they provided to everyone with MS.
