Annette Fredskov

[Waydwnsouth1]

A friend of mine sent me a message on FB about this lady and said I should Google her. As it turns out she plans to run 366 marathons in 365 days. She plans on doing this while have a diagnosis of in 2009. She says and I quote "I would also like to provide evidence that, even with a diagnosis (Multiple Sclerosis in my case), people shouldn’t be held back from living life to its fullest and fulfilling ones dreams."
She goes on to say to say "Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and today I have – without any medication – no problems or symptoms of MS. I believe that running marathons has played a large role in the fact that I am healthy today." IMO she is somewhat misleading. By that I mean she fails to mention that MS affects everyone differently and not everyone with MS may be able to accomplish such a feat. Now with that said I can say that I have started the new drug "Tecfidera" and after being on it now for 3 months I able to accomplish some things that was not able to earlier. However, I do have a breaking a point. I now able to walk without an aid and I am able to get out and do some work in beds which I dearly love to do. But as I said earlier I can still over do it and when I do I pay a healthy price.
I admire Ms. Annette for her rather ambitious goal but I feel she should have expounded a little more on MS. By not doing so she gives the impression that People living with MS should be able to do more that what they say they can. For example my friend that sent the message says and I quote "She had MS and credits the marathons to her not having MS anymore." That's the impression she is leaving to the average lay person that the marathons healed her.
I don't know maybe it is just me but I think she was misleading and should have been a bit more forthcoming about MS. Any thoughts from my fellow MS'ers?

[Tawanda]

Pretty incredible, but 3 years is still a newbee to me, and as far as the non use of DMDs, the latest long term data hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire anyway!

All the same, i hope to continue to hear positive updates on her behalf for years to come! Go Annette go!

[MSer102]

She goes on to say to say "Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and today I have – without any medication – no problems or symptoms of MS. I believe that running marathons has played a large role in the fact that I am healthy today." IMO she is somewhat misleading. By that I mean she fails to mention that MS affects everyone differently and not everyone with MS may be able to accomplish such a feat. ... I don't know maybe it is just me but I think she was misleading and should have been a bit more forthcoming about MS. Any thoughts from my fellow MS'ers?

I don't agree with you. She said "I believe that running marathons has played a large role in the fact that I am healthy today." She was speaking only for herself. She isn't misleading anybody because she isn't speaking about MS in general, only about herself.

It amazes me and dismays me that so many people with MS elect anyone and everyone else with MS who gets some kind of media coverage as some kind of official spokesperson for MS and then criticize or condemn them for not being one. I can't believe how many people picked on poor Annette Funicello for not being a worldwide ambassador for MS and saying all the things they thought she should say. It turned into such nasty gossip.

This woman is a private citizen expressing her own opinion. She doesn't owe anybody anything. She isn't obligated to educate anybody about MS, including saying that other people with MS are affected differently.

It would be different if she were an official representative from some medical or MS support organization. But she isn't and apparently doesn't claim to be. She's just a person expressing her opinion about herself and trying to live her life.

I think it's unfair to say anything about what she "should" be doing. Even if she were the "perfect" educational spokesperson, the "average lay person" wouldn't pay attention to her anyway.

I can't imagine that anyone would consider her statements about herself to be a "teaching moment" about a disease they may have never heard of and don't care about anyway. People believe what they want to believe. Even in MS forums it's shocking how many people who have MS themselves believe and perpetuate things about MS that aren't true.

Misleading? No. Speaking about MS in general or telling other people that they'll be healthy if they do the same thing she's doing? No. Obligated to be a spokesperson or educator about MS just because someone else thinks she should be? No.

[wheeliegirl]

Have to applaud her for continuing to live her life as well as ''she'' can . To insinuate that ms-ers may be not trying to live their lives to the fullest also is just not true.

Some of us have had MS for many years before we were diagnosed and the MS may have already done damage. Others have benign MS or CIS for years without symptoms. Or even a milder MS at the time of diagnoses. We can gage our MS lives by the successes or defeats of another MS-er.

'' Now with that said I can say that I have started the new drug "Tecfidera" and after being on it now for 3 months I able to accomplish some things that was not able to earlier. However, I do have a breaking a point. I now able to walk without an aid and I am able to get out and do some work in beds which I dearly love to do. But as I said earlier I can still over do it and when I do I pay a healthy price." oh please! gee wiz
I'm on Tecfidera . It's a DMD . Its only purpose is to possible slow down to amount of relaspes one has . Nothing more . If she is experiencing less side effects maybe its do to the tecfidera helping her to have less relapses
Plus she keep a healthy life style. Which we all know this help some. Although not me much in the past 2 years. But can't stop trying to live healthy just because the MS is progressing right?
I'd say that this well meaning woman may have a rude MS awakening someday. She may see things in a better light then.
So yep I'd say she is mislead lead and misleading . But don't we all make mistakes ?

[Jules A]

Just speaking personally I would be more impressed if she was planning on working 366 shifts in the next 365 in an effort to financially prepare for the likely day when MS will rob her of the ability to work but then again she didn't ask my opinion.

[KatW]

A friend sent me a similar article about a local man with MS who ran marathons. I'm afraid I did not appreciate the effort. I did Google the Annette articles and got a good laugh from the comments. I'm also thinking the websites should run a fact check before posting these types of articles. Giving readers the impression that MS can be cured by running is misleading and potentially harmful.

[KatieAgain]

Speaking as a former runner, I understand this woman totally. I too literally tried to run the disease away (not by running Marathons everyday though) and thought I was being successful until the Mother of All Flares took away my ability to run in 2005. The reason of course is I had a very benign progression at first as many of us do.

What I find amazing, and all runners know this, by running as much as she did in such a short space of time, she hurt her body more than help herself. Running is very hard on the body. It is only a matter of time before the knees, hips and back give out on her. She mentioned in one of her statements that her body was already rebelling after the final run. If I was her, I would be in an MRI Machine checking for small hairline fractures that could not be picked up on a regular X-ray. Those small hairline fractures turn into major problems for runners.

However, what she did physically, MS or not is absolutely incredible. She is a machine! Running about 10,000 miles in a year...that is incredible.

If she thinks her MS was cured....well, O.K. I don't agree with her point in running a Marathon everyday, but everyone has their own way of dealing with the disease.

[GandalfRA]

She is doing us more wrong than right. People will think that us with an aggressive form of MS are lazy or that we do not have the will to improve.

I can only say to her, pray to God that your MS keeps being a bening type.

I tried to cure away the disease with VERY HEAVY weight training, DIET and aerobics and my super will, MS spank me in the buttocks 6 months later.

[MMMMS]

Did anyone in the press verify her claim? 366 marathons in 365 days sounds very unlikely when you look at the condition of most runners who finish one marathon in a year.

I'm being a doubting Thomas, but it really does sound unreal.

[Windwalker]

I think it does a disservice to all of us with MS.

We know that there are varying degrees of disability with those who have MS, from those who can run Marathons to those that cannot walk or stand and everything in between.

The general public, society at large, does not know this. We already endure all kinds of misconceptions and ignorant, insensitive remarks in regards to our disease and how it affects us. This lady only makes it worse with her statement. I totally agree with the OP.