About Us
Run A Myelin My Shoes (RAMMS) is an MS support team founded by Cheryl Hile, the first person with Multiple Sclerosis to run 7 marathons on 7 continents (and she ran them all in 12 months!). During her year-long adventure, she met incredible people worldwide with MS who are runners or want to become runners. She also met newly diagnosed patients who were afraid to keep running because there is an often-misconceived notion that strenuous exercise is bad for MS. Cheryl wanted to change that perception so she built an international support team and created RAMMS.
RAMMS is comprised of people living with MS (MS Warriors) plus family members, friends, healthcare providers, and advocates (MS Support Heroes). Our goal is to support each other as athletes living with Multiple Sclerosis and to motivate others with the disease to exercise to the best of their ability despite a disease that compromises mobility.
We meet once a year at a running/walking event where we spread awareness of the disease and encourage others with MS to do what they can and never give up! We also have a robust worldwide team that creates their own events at home across all seven continents of the world!
The first RAMMS event was on October 21, 2018 at the Detroit Marathon, Half Marathon Relay and 5K. We had a total of 96 teammates who joined in solidarity from all over the world to become the largest group of MS patients to participate in an event together.
- 49 MS Warriors and 47 MS Support Heroes
- 55 teammates met in Detroit, MI
- 41 were virtual teammates
- 7 continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America.
- 15 countries + Antarctica: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, England, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and USA
- 25 states + DC: AL, CA, CO, HI, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NH, ND, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA and WI
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Auckland, Japan and USA
The second edition was at the Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon and 8K on November 16, 2019 in Virginia. In one year, our team grew three-fold to an astounding 287 teammates.
- 127 MS Warriors and 160 MS Support Heroes
- 162 teammates met in Richmond, VA
- 125 were virtual teammates
- 7 continents: Antarctica, Australasia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America
- 13 countries + Antarctica: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa and USA
- 44 states + DC: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV and WY
- 4 Canadian provinces: AB, BC, NB and ON
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Japan and USA
The third event in 2020 was all-virtual because of the global pandemic. Despite the lack of an in-person event, our team managed to expand. A lot of the growth was due to Thuasne, an international company specializing in orthopedic devices, who promoted RAMMS among their employees in California and Europe. We had 375 teammates in total!
- 110 MS Warriors and 265 MS Support Heroes
- 6 continents: Australasia, Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and North America
- 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa and USA.
- 42 states + DC: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NH, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI and WY
- 3 Canadian provinces: AB, NB and ON
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Japan, Philippines, Portugal and USA
The fourth edition was on November 16, 2021 at the Indianapolis Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K. Our team grew for the fourth straight year for a total of 454 teammates!
- 139 MS Warriors, 127 MS Support Heroes and 188 Special Supporters from Thuasne and BOA Technologies.
- 54 teammates met in Indianapolis, IN
- 401 were virtual teammates
- 7 continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America.
- 23 Countries + Antarctica: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Wales and USA
- 45 US States + DC: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV and WY
- 3 Canadian provinces: AB, NB, ON
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Japan, Paraguay, Portugal and USA
The fifth anniversary was on October 15, 2022 at the Baltimore Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K.
- 128 MS Warriors and 120 MS Support Heroes (which included 10 people from the MS Society Technology Team)
- 83 teammates met in Baltimore, MD
- 165 were virtual teammates
- 6 continents: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America
- 20 countries: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Wales and USA
- 39 US States + DC: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI and WY
- 3 Canadian provinces: AB, NB, ON
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Japan, Portugal, Switzerland and USA
The sixth event was on October 15, 2023 at the Columbus Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K.
RAMMS has been using the word “virtual” since 2018 – way before the topic of virtual events became trendy due to the pandemic. Even though races still try to make extra money by enticing people to sign up for virtual events, we decided to drop the word “virtual” when describing our worldwide team. There is nothing at all “virtual” about the amazing things our members do! From now on we will call them our “Worldwide Team.”
- 95 MS Warriors and 84 MS Support Heroes
- 39 teammates met in Columbus, OH
- 140 were worldwide teammates
- 6 continents: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America
- 17 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Wales and USA
- 36 US States + DC: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WY
- 2 Canadian provinces: AB and NB
- Worldwide MS organizations that promoted RAMMS: Japan and USA
Worldwide Team
Our worldwide participants have ventured beyond running and walking. We’ve had some pretty cool sports and wonderfully creative ideas:
- Organized a neighborhood 5K, 10K and even a marathon with family and friends… or with a miniature horse!
- Ran an entirely different local race on the same weekend as the featured event while wearing the RAMMS team shirt
- Jogged on treadmills and indoor tracks in places with harsh weather like in Antarctica, Alaska and Minnesota
- Mapped out urban walking tours
- Hiked up mountains and along wooded trails
- Participated in epic adventures like a multi-day run
- Cycled long distance outside and on the Peloton
- Swam long and short distances in pools, lakes, and oceans
- Other ocean sports like prone paddleboarding, SUP, kayaking, canoeing, and kite surfing
- Climbed a massive rock wall
- PR’ed a weightlifting circuit at the gym
- Coordinated an extended yoga session, or a 10-minute HIIT session
- Organized a DIY duathlon and a sprint triathlon
- Exercised in the comfort of their own home on the elliptical or rowing machine
- Played a racket sport like pickle ball and racquetball
- Participated at exciting events like color runs, cross-fit contests and corn maze solving
- Sweated it out at Orangetheory
- Choreographed a theatrical dance
- “T-shirt Shenanigans” by way of taking the team shirt to a city and showing it off at various sights
- Walked 35,000 feet in the air because of having to travel during the annual event
- And the crazy team captain and her husband went skydiving for their RAMMS 5K Your Way event last June 2023
Run A Myelin My Shoes is proudly sponsored by Hanger Clinic and Thuasne USA.