Monroe High senior plans Run For M.S.

Monroe High School senior Savannah Hastings is honoring those struggling with multiple sclerosis with a 5K benefit run next month.

The race will and loop around at Lake Tye Park, and it starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 5. The cost per racer is a minimum $20 donation, and registering before April 20 guarantees participants a T-shirt. Click here to register. 

Hastings is familiar with what it means to be able to move as a track and cross-country runner, and she’s grateful for her abilities. She has seen firsthand the impact not being able to run has on people; her grandma and her grandma's sister both had M.S.

Hastings' great-aunt was diagnosed with the disease at age 17, and died at 38. Her grandma has lived with it for 30 years, and her symptoms have lessened and glared over time. Her great-grandmother is 94 years old and lives in Toppenish. Hastings said she is one of the strongest people she knows, having watched both her daughters struggle with the debilitating illness. 

“It has definitely impacted our family on both sides of the spectrum,” she said.

Putting together the event is part of her Career and College Ready course at school. To pull off the culminating project, she enlisted help from Monroe Boys and Girls Club director Jeff Rasmussen and the high school's sports medicine teacher Heather Sevier. She said she has learned a lot from both, including skills she hadn't possessed before, like building relationships within the community.

Hastings' goal is to get about 50 people to participate, and raise close to $1,000 for M.S., the recognized color of which is orange. She is encouraging everyone to come out in their favorite Bearcats garb for the race.

“It should be good, I am excited,” she said.