News

MS Run the US – Offutt Defender races for a cure

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachel Hammes
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs

An Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., NCO woke up early June 9. The light was soft and gray as he exited the recreational vehicle he had slept in. He stretched briefly, and bounced experimentally on his heels. The day before he had run 30 miles along the highway stretching from Omaha, Neb., toward New York City, and today he planned on running another 28. Despite the coolness of the air, he knew by 10 a.m. the heat would be radiating off the road in hazy waves, creating mirages of glimmering water on the road miles ahead. He knew it would look like that again tomorrow, and the next day and the next.

Staff Sgt. Sammy Bridges, NCO in charge of operations support with the 55th Security Forces Squadron, isn’t the kind of person to run in 100-degree heat along highways for the fun of it. The sameness of the road stretching endlessly in front of him is a mental hurdle he has to prepare for, readying his mind to zone out as much as possible. But this run wasn’t about fun – it was personal.

“My mother-in-law has multiple sclerosis,” Bridges said. “She’s had it for as long as I’ve known her – more than 25 years.”

MS is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. Many individuals with MS deal with constant muscle pain, muscle spasms and in some cases paralysis.

Bridges wanted to do something to show support for his mother, and when he found the MS Run the US relay, it seemed a perfect fit.

 “MS Run the US is a cross-country relay made up of 17 ultra-runners,” Bridges said. “It starts in Los Angeles and runs to New York City, from April to October. Each runner elects to raise $10,000 to be given to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Over the course of that week, each runner normally runs about 180 miles. We’re trying to bring to light what multiple sclerosis really is, and trying to make people realize that there isn’t a cure. We’re trying to fund that cure.”

Bridges was one of 17 runners selected out of hundreds of ultra-runner applicants. An ultra-runner is any athlete who completes races longer than a 26.2 miles – anything over a marathon. Bridges has run 50 miles and 100Ks in the past, but nothing like the dredge of running tens of miles a day on the same, flat road, feeling the soles of his shoes melt into the asphalt as he presses onward.

“I’m a huge runner, and I love running,” he said. “I love my mother-in-law. This was doing something I love for someone I love. Going out and pushing my body to the limit by doing 166 miles over the course of six days helped me understand what daily life is like for her. I dedicated the run to her.”

Staff Sgt. Robert Andersen, NCO in charge of police services with the 55th SFS, said Bridges’ passion for running is obvious to those who know him.

“You can tell just by working with him that he’s into running,” Andersen said. “Everything he does, he has that marathon-look to him and that focus. I think he’s running because he cares about MS, and getting a cure for it.”

Throughout the run, Bridges felt he gained perspective on his mother-in-law’s daily life.

“On day one I had muscle spasms in my quadriceps, which my mother-in-law experiences on a daily basis,” he said. “It made it nearly impossible to run or walk until I was able to get my legs loose again. I can’t imagine dealing with that constantly.”

While Bridges had mentally prepared for the isolation of running solo every day, he was surprised by the connections he made with people.

“I was stopped in every town I ran through by individuals driving by and wondering what I was doing,” he said. “After telling them, almost every person had someone in their life that lives with MS. They would give me a big hug and tell me how strong of a man I was for doing something like this.”

Despite the heat and the pain, Bridges said the experience was extremely rewarding, and something he wants to do again in the future.

“I am very happy I did this relay for MS,” he said. “Over the course of those six days my outlook on life changed – I realized that I have the ability to run, the ability to play with my kids without pain and that I do not have to rely on medicine to be comfortable. The amount of emotion I experienced out on the road when I was running is something I simply can’t put into words.”