Active MSer Feature: Beth Ulibarri

Beth is from Albuquerque, NM and was just recently diagnosed with MS. She keeps up to date on a blog to document her journey: www.milesandtrials.com. 
You can also find Beth on Twitter: @MilesAndTrials


I also want to say CONGRATS to my most recent Active MSer feature Jill Walsh, who recently finished Ironman Lake Placid; Jill, You Are An Ironman! 


Here is Beth's story, in her words.

Hi Kelly,

I have been a fan of yours since I saw you do so well at Boulder 70.3 last summer as I was there to cheer my husband on.  It was with great delight when I saw your personal interest in supporting the MS community, as I have been recently diagnosed.

My MS story started about a year ago, first with some leg tingling that I would feel after a long run (I was training for a marathon at the time), then an electric shock feeling in my rib cage, and fatigue is pretty much a constant in my life.  The tingling and numbness in my feet and legs got gradually worse in the Fall of 2011 and finally got my attention enough to get it checked out.  I thought it was simply a pinched nerve or something like that, but test after test later, I got the disturbing news that I have MS.  

That was in March of this year.  I am still adjusting to the news, but one of the first things I did was research athletes that have MS.  I have been a runner for a few years and fallen in love with running marathons, so I was hopeful that I would not have to give this passion up.  I was pleased to find many runners and triathletes who have MS that continue to train and even do amazing things like run marathons and do Ironmans!  I plan on continuing to run marathons, do the New Mexico MS 150 bike ride this summer, and possibly even do some triathlons.

I decided to start a blog (www.milesandtrials.com) to document my journey of trying to stay in shape while dealing with what MS might throw my way.  I hope that I can inspire others to not be deterred by this diagnosis and to keep moving, or start moving their bodies, because exercise is shown to be so helpful in dealing with MS.  I just completed my fifth marathon, my first one post MS diagnosis (PMS, as I like to call it!).  It was my fastest marathon so far, and I even qualified for the Boston Marathon.  I hope and pray that I can stay healthy enough to have many more marathons and triathlons in my future.  Thank you for your commitment to MS awareness and fundraising.


Keep it up Beth, and thank you for submitting your story! 
And let's keep the donations coming! Ironman Hawaii is in just 3 months, and we're almost halfway to my goal of $10,000 via MS Can Do. Please consider a donation, 
none is too small! 
https://www.gifttool.com/donations/Donate?ID=1795&AID=2044


Thanks for reading,
Kelly