Two Fond du Lac residents have completed their segments in a cross country relay to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. Melissa Schmidt and Carlee Schmitz were participating in the MS Run US…a relay that started in Los Angelas, ending in New York. Melissa Schmidt ran the first leg last month starting at the Pacific Ocean. Carly Schmitz started April 24th in Nevada…finishing this week, more than 240 miles later in Utah. “Pure elation,” Schmitz told WFDL news minutes before beginning her final six miles in Utah this week. “I’m also kind of sad because I don’t want this experience to end.” Schmitz ran much of her leg in the mountains…battling sore knees during the final stretch, and running into an unexpected obstacle at one point that forced her to temporarily alter her course. “On one of the trails there were longhorn cattle, and they totally meant business because they had their little calves,” Schmitz said. “One of them actually came out on the trail and was staring us down.” Schmitz says the people she met along the way were wonderful, including one couple that gave special meaning to her run. “We met a young man, Gary and his wife Tammy, in a town called Caliente, Nevada. It was just a freak incident because in July his wife is actually going to UCLA to get a proper diagnosis because she has been experiencing symptoms associated with MS,” Schmitz said. “How crazy that we ran into them and then the following day Gary actually ran an entire marathon with me.”
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