34 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 26, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com www.oakvillebeaver.com Eric's Amazing Race helps fight crippling disease By Brenda Jefferies SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER cancun/mayan cancun/mayan $ Catalonia Playa Maroma 517 Taxes $276 $ 579 Grand Coco Bay Taxes $277 1 week - All inclusive November 4, 11/nol 1 week - All inclusive November 3/con cancun/mayan cayo coco cayo coco puerto vallarta $ 1239 351 Gran Caribe Real Taxes $276 $ Tryp Cayo Coco 474 Taxes $210 $ 1231 Blau Colonial Taxes $209 $ Allegro Nuevo Vallarta 386 797 Taxes $276 1 week - All inclusive December 21/sig 1 week - All inclusive November 2/sig 1 week - All inclusive December 29/sq 1 week - All inclusive November 2/sig puerto plata Wywa Wyndam Tangerine punta cana faro portugal acapulco $ Taxes $318 $ Barcelo Bavaro Beach 797 Taxes $318 $ Villa Gale Atlantico 773 Taxes $186 $ Acapulco Ritz Taxes $276 1 week - All inclusive Nov 3, 10, 17/sig 1 week - All inclusive Jan 4, 11, 18/nol 1 week - EP January 28/sig 1 week - All inclusive January 2/nol On Saturday, Nov. 3, the local community has the opportunity to be part of a truly amazing event. For the past four years, Flamborough Review (a sister paper of The Oakville Beaver) advertising manager Ted Lindsay and his wife, Heather, have spearheaded Eric's Amazing Race, a combination car rally/scavenger hunt that takes participants on a scenic tour of the Halton and Flamborough countryside. This year's event, the fifth annual, will wind up with a silent auction at the Waterdown Legion. Modeled loosely on the popular "Amazing Race" television show, the event offers a great day of taking in the stunning fall sights along the Niagara Escarpment. Named for the Lindsays' Eric Morden nephew Eric Morden, of Oakville, the rally is also a leg in the race to find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Now seven years old, Eric was diagnosed as a toddler with the genetic degenerative muscular condition that robs its victims almost exclusively boys of the ability to walk. As the muscles grow weaker, the respiratory system is MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 10 AM - 12 PM and 6 PM - 8 PM COLLEGE AT NIAGARA COLLEGE Information FAIR MEET students and faculty. SEE displays, exhibits and demos. TALK TO REPS FROM 25 ONTARIO COLLEGES NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE CAMPUS (Glendale Ave. exit, at the QEW) EXPLORE over 90 Niagara College programs and DISCOVER why we have been rated #1 IN STUDENT SATISFACTION for three straight years! niagaracollege.ca compromised, resulting in death, often while the boys are in their teens or early 20s. About 1 in 3,500 boys are diagnosed with Duchenne. Currently, there is no cure for DMD but events like Eric's Race aim to change that. "They can do it it's just a matter of time," said Lindsay, who has garnered optimism from recent advances in research at several North American health centres. The proceeds from Eric's Amazing Race more than $60,000 over the past four years are channeled to the Jesse Davidson Endowment fund through Jesse's Journey, the charity founded by London resident John Davidson. For those unfamiliar with the Davidsons' story, John and Jesse embarked on a cross-province marathon in 1995 a father pushing his son's wheelchair for 124 days in the hope of raising $100,000. More than $2 million poured in for Jesse's Journey - The Foundation for Gene and Cell Therapy. In 1998 John crossed Canada on foot, again to raise money for DMD research and deliver his message. Since that first walk, Jesse's Journey has raised more than $7.5 million, which is perpetuated by the endowment fund; more than $2 million has been funneled into research $375,000 in 2006 alone. Jesse's Journey has also contributed to advances in muscular dystrophy research through the Duchenne Research Initiative, which brings together teams from the Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Ottawa Health Research Institute and the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario. The Duchenne Research Initiative received encouraging news last month, from Dr. Jerry Mendell. Visiting from Columbus, Ohio, the muscular dystrophy research specialist announced that human trials for MD treatment are currently underway. As he does at various events throughout the country that support Jesse's Journey, Davidson plans to be on hand for Eric's Amazing Race. Eric's Amazing Race kicks of at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Bruce T. Lindley School (2510 Cavendish Drive, Burlington); the silent auction portion will run from 3-7 p.m. at the Waterdown Legion. The cost to register is $10 per person and participants can register by calling 905-331-6874 or emailing tether69@hotmail.com. Lindsay noted that people can sign up for the day, or show their support by attending the silent auction. He is also accepting items that can be auctioned off during the event. All proceeds will be directed to research through Jesse's Journey. "We still need help," he said. "It's just not fair for a seven-year-old kid looking at life in a wheelchair by the time they're 12. "When people come out and support the event, when they donate an item for the silent auction, it's channeled to research," he added. "It's pretty amazing."