2014 Alise Post MS Race for a Cure

The 5th annual MS Race for a Cure and Never Give Up 5k will be happening at Pineview Park BMX on Saturday, August 9, 2014. The funds raised by this online auction will be donated to the MS Society in addition to all funds raised during both of the live events on August 9.

Thank you for your participation and aid in finding a cure for MS and other neurological diseases!

I am a 25 year old professional BMX racer and 2016 Olympic Silver Medallist who has been blessed with many amazing opportunities and experiences in life. There have obviously been a lot of people who have helped me along the way, and I always want to remember to take the time to support those who have supported me, and those who may have not been so lucky along the way. That is why I created the annual Alise Post MS Race for a Cure event. We are currently conducting our 6th annual event!

Why MS? I chose the Multiple Sclerosis Society based on my former gymnastics coach, Colleen Stark-Haws. Her and her family were strong mentors in my life and were basically a second family to me. The Stark-Haws helped coach my Tech gymnastics team to 4 consecutive 2nd place state finishes, and myself to 3 consecutive Vault State Championship titles along with numerous other state podiums. Although they obviously taught me great gymnastics skills, that is only half of what I learned from them. Dedication, courage, teamwork, persistence, toughness of both the mind and body, and just simply being a good person were also all results of training with them. These characteristics have played a huge role in my entire life’s journey and making the US Olympic Team.  Joel and "CJ" want every individual to reach their full potential and expect nothing but the best from everyone. People respect this from them and want to rise to these expectations because this family "walks the walk" and leads by example. I have watched CJ go from teaching me gymnastics choreography to living in a wheel chair in less than a year and half. Then over the next 4 years, I watched her mobility decrease more and more as the disease progressed. However, I can truly say that since her diagnosis in 2006, while being pumped with steroids and going through countless treatments, losing her job as a salary paid coach due to her MS, and while their active family made EXTREME sacrifices to live with this disease, I have never once heard CJ or her family complain. She continued to come into the gym everyday, sit in her wheel chair and coach us just how she always had, never blinking an eye. As an athlete, when your coach goes through a life changing experience and handles it how CJ did, you are inspired to be better. No matter how difficult life may seem that day, or how sore you might be, or how tired you might feel, when you walk into practice and see CJ ready to go, there is no room for complaints. There is only time to "accept the challenge" and take advantage of the opportunity you have to become better that day.

The Stark-Haws family truly lives to give. On top of coaching the high school gymnastics team, Joel and CJ coach a number of developmental gymnastics programs and Joel also coaches the cross-country team and teaches at the Area Learning Center. The entire family was also heavily involved at Pineview Park BMX for numerous years, both as volunteers and as racers. Their son Eli no longer races, however he continues to be extremely active and independent. He is an amazing kid that is growing into a strong individual. But what else would you expect from a Stark-Haws? Colleen and her family are truly inspiring to everyone they meet.

Since becoming more involved with the search for a cure, I have learned of so many other people affected by MS. Another dear friend of mine that many in the BMX world would know, Danny Meadows, was diagnosed as I was organizing my first MS Race. Danny has managed and been a mechanic for numerous BMX teams and ran the local Chula Vista Future BMX track at the Olympic Training Center until he could no longer work on the track and keep it up to his level of perfection. He was even out in the bobcat working on the London Replica Track to help our USA Olympic BMX Team in 2012. When I found out about his situation with MS,  I had yet another reason that made MS the right cause for me to take part in.

About 200 new people are diagnosed with MS every week in the USA, and the disease is densely found in the Midwest. In the most simple of terms, MS eats away at your nervous system and muscle control is lost over time. It continues until your brain can no longer tell you to breathe or your heart to beat. The progression of MS happens at different speeds for everyone, Colleen being affected by the most progressive form. Even though MS destroys the individual, it also affects entire families everyday for the rest of their lives. For the Stark-Haws sake, for the Meadows' sake, and for all of those out there affected by this horrible disease, let's help the MS Society raise funds to search for a cure. If a cure is found for MS, a cure is also found for a number of other neurological diseases, making MS a great cause to be a part of.

Thank you for all of your support, and I hope you will "accept the challenge" and take part in this awesome event with me! Also, please feel free to contact me or the Pineview crew through Facebook if you have any questions. Please forward this on to anyone you think might like to get involved..Together we are stronger!

-Alise Post and the Pineview Park BMX crew