Angel Runners: Running for Baraboo Angels

Wisconsin Dells -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Jul 11, 2011 -- Rick Warren the author of "The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here for?" once said, "Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others." This weekend two men from Michigan will endure 13.1 miles of pain to help others. Master Sergeant (MSgt) James Nielsen and Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Jason Bernstein of the United States Air Force will be running in the "Dances with Dirt: Devils Lake 1/2 Marathon" on July 9, 2011 in Baraboo, Wisconsin. They will be running in honor of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Solles and Colton Mears; two Baraboo children who battle with a rare neurodevelopmental disorder known as Angelman Syndrome (AS). Only 1 in 15,000 live births worldwide are diagnosed with AS which is caused by a severe reduction of expression of the gene UBE3a in the brain. The majority of AS cases are caused by deletions on the maternal copy of Chromosome 15. Since AS is so rare often children are misdiagnosed as having Cerebral Palsy or Autism. MSgt Nielsen and TSgt Bernstein will be representing a worldwide running group known as Angel Runners, and will be raising funds for the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST). To learn about the mission of FAST visit: FAST

Dr. Edwin Weeber from University of South Florida serves on the FAST Scientific Advisory Board. In February 2007 it was announced that Dr. Weeber and his colleagues had "reversed the neurological deficits in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome by preventing the inhibition of CaMKII, an enzyme highly expressed in brain regions affected by Angelman syndrome." Although a cure has been discovered in the mice model, it will take a large amount of funding to get a cure in the human model. AS parents and their friends around the globe are voting for FAST to win $250,000 for research in the Vivint Gives Back Project. Parents are voting daily until August 27th at which the contest will end. FAST is currently in first place in their region and #1 in ranking overall. Parents ask that you join in voting daily by visiting: HELP SAVE THE ANGELS

To sponsor the Angel Runners event and help fund research for a cure for angel Colton and angel Lizzie visit: FIRSTGIVING

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Angel Runners
Jason Bernstein
517-206-8003
http://www.angelrunners.com