Megan VanAsseldonk is many things. She is the mom of four amazing kids, a teacher at Christ The King, a trail runner and a fierce advocate for
Jesse’s Journey and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) research.
According to their statement of purpose, “Jesse’s Journey is a partnership of science and families dedicated to the discovery of treatment and
cure of Duchenne muscular dystrophy – because parents should not outlive their children.” They are the only Canadian charity solely dedicated to funding research related to Duchenne.
DMD is a progressive genetic disorder that gradually weakens the body’s muscles and affects one in 5,000 boys, most of whom will be in a
wheelchair by age 12.
The Jesse’s Journey website asks, “How far would you go for someone you love?” Meg is set to answer that call on April 24, 2021. Not only is
she training to run the 110 km Thames Valley Trail, she is training to do it in the fastest known time.
Originally, she hoped to be the fastest known woman, beating a record set in November 2015 by a group of four women in a time of 26:40. But
as she trained Meg says she decided “maybe I can push myself a little bit more” and set her sights on the fastest known time. That 11:41:16 time was set on June 21, 2020 by Matt Farquharson.
Why, you may ask yourself, would someone do this? Meg’s youngest son Isaac was diagnosed in 2016 with DMD. She has named this challenge
“The Big Trek for Isaac” and she is raising funds for Jesse’s Journey and awareness around Duchenne’s in general. She chose the Thames Valley Trail because it runs past the hospital in London, Ontario, where Isaac goes for all his clinical trials.
Meg says she is “looking forward to the challenge”.
You can support Megan’s training and journey by following her on Instagram, @trekingforfour, or on her blog, www.trekingforfour.blogspot.com.
A link to donate to her fundraising campaign will soon be available at www.jessesjourney.com
