Photo supplied by Bowden Sych

By Shane Clausing

mighty max

Grande Prairie man to run 119 kilometers to Fairview to raise money for Mighty Max

Dec 22, 2020 | 5:38 PM

Grande Prairie’s Joshua Hall is getting ready to kick off the run of a lifetime on December 23, as he hopes to raise money for Mighty Max.

Mighty Max, who is from Fairview, suffers from a rare disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Since November, the family has been on a mad dash to come up with $2.8 million dollars to pay for the drug Zolgensma, which can help children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. They started a GoFundMe page which has so far raised $500,000.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which is a rare neuromuscular disorder, results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. The disease makes it tough for children to grow muscles as they get older.

The drug Zolgensma was recently approved by Health Canada, however it is not yet known who will pay for it.

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If Max were to get the drug in the United States, he would have to get it before he turns two in January. In Canada, they issue the drug by weight, which will allow the family more time to find money for the drug.

While the family continues to look for money, Hall said that he really wants to help the family out. So, as of 8:00 a.m. on December 23, Hall will begin running from Grande Prairie to Fairview, with the hope of raising enough money for Max. He says he’s been waiting for an opportunity to do a run like this.

“In the past two to three years, I’ve had a feeling that something is going to come up and I was always really afraid of it. I know that all of the events in my life leading up to this have been playing towards a big move and this boy has unbelievable support and god put me in his life and on this path.”

Hall has also been preparing to run a marathon for a while, so he felt this would be a good way to test his running skills out.

According to Hall, it will take 24 hours total to run from Grande Prairie to Fairview and he says that it wasn’t until December 21 that he thought about running to help Max.

“I am completely prepared and trained. There’s a certain way you’ve got to do it and that’s a very slow, breathable pace and not pushing past that limit, because it all ends very quickly if you push too hard.”

Hall tells EverythingGP that he does know Max’s dad, however, at the time of writing this story, they do no idea that he is running this journey.

Hall’s journey will begin at 8:00 a.m. at Riverstone Park and they plan to take a break at midnight in Rycroft. He plans to reach Fairview on the morning of Christmas Eve.

“I’m so excited to see what happens.”