My First Challenge Walk MS Experience

by Jill Jones

      This will be my second year walking in Challenge Walk MS. My sister started this tradition for our family two years ago. I went with my mom and dad that year to cheer on my sister and brother-in-law. I was so impressed with the walk and how everyone cheered for each other and how everyone treated each other as one big family. I knew I wanted to be a part of that “family” the next year.       

      I am walking for my mom, Peggy, who was diagnosed with MS about five years ago. I am also walking for my mom’s best friend, Nancy, who was diagnosed a year later. I want to find a cure for them and all of the others that fight this disease every day. I feel that there is a good chance that can happen in their lifetime if we keep working to raise funds to support research. 

Challenge Walk MS is a unique adventure, unlike Walk MS that I also participate in every year. It is a chance to challenge yourself, to do something that might at first seem impossible. When my sister first said that she was participating in the Challenge Walk two years ago I thought she was crazy. I thought that there was no way I would ever do that, or that she would even be able to finish it. Today I am proud to say that I have completed one Challenge Walk and my sister has completed two. 

Last year I was very nervous before the walk because I really wasn’t sure if I could do it. I saw other people blogging about their “training” and thought I was not as prepared as they were. I have since learned that everyone has their own training and what I had done prior to the Challenge Walk worked for me. I live on a farm and actively help my children prepare their cattle for the county fair. My training consisted of walking our animals almost every day for many months. I also took many long walks in our fields and country blocks, which I believe also helped me. So that worked for me, but whatever you do to prepare, I’m sure will help you too! 

Jill’s family at last year’s Milton Mud Challenge, a fundraiser
that her sister and brother-in-law started three years ago to
support MS and raise funds to stop the disease. (Front row:
Jill’s mom, Peggy; Jill; Jill’s sister-in-law Erika; and sister
Heidi. Back row: Jill’s husband, Greg; brother Ben;
dad, Jim; and brother-in-law Jeremy)