The year was 2009 and Team Fox member Stephanie Desautels’ father Richard, known fondly as “Fly”, had just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Eager for a way to get involved, Stephanie wasted no time in approaching her good friend, and fellow running enthusiast, Jennifer Boyer with a crazy idea: host a half marathon in their hometown of Plattsburgh in upstate New York to raise both funds and awareness for Parkinson’s research.

Five years later, the Plattsburgh Half Marathon is now an USTA accredited course with over $100,000 raised for The Michael J. Fox Foundation thus far!

That first year, the goal was to recruit 500 runners—a number Stephanie and Jennifer felt was a reasonable stretch—but within a few short weeks when registration was already full, the duo realized they were onto something.  “We have very long, cold winters living way up in the North Country,” Stephanie mentions, “and it’s nice to have something to keep people motivated to run in those cold months.  Also to know they are giving back to such a wonderful cause makes hosting this event so rewarding.” Since the race’s inception in 2010, the Plattsburgh Half Marathon has increased its capacity to 1000 runners, and has continued to sell out every year. 

This year, the race will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Sunday, April 27 and registration is well underway. Interested in running? Make the most of your miles and register today.