Race for Ryland

 Lace up your shoes and join us to help raise awareness and funds for rare diseases, honor all Rare Warriors out there as well as pay tribute to our Rare Warrior Ryland Grace! 

Race for Ryland is an Annual 5k fundraiser held on Rare Disease Awareness Day, which is always the last Saturday of February. Ryland Grace was our beautiful baby girl who was only 8 days old who passed way a very rare disorder called Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency(PDCD). PDCD is a rare disorder of carbohydrate metabolism caused by a deficiency of one of the three enzymes in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Ryland was not just special, she was rare. Only several hundred cases of PDCD have been reported.

 Our goal for this event is to raise funds to help the underserved affected by rare diseases and to raise awareness on how to support the one in ten Americans that are affected by rare diseases/disorders, of which more than half are children. 

 The proceeds raised during this event will be received by two local San Antonio organizations that help support this rare community; Gus Owens Stephens Foundation & Any Baby Can of San Antonio. The other portion of our proceeds will help fund the production of Rare, a documentary that explores key moments in the history of rare diseases and the continuing shift in the debate over those able to impact new medical discoveries. Told through interwoven storylines, it offers a first hand account of what it takes to go from diagnosis to treatment, the power of communities coming together, and the increasing belief that anyone can make a difference.

Included with each registration is a t-shirt, a few freebies, and a race bib. 

If you’d like to help the rare disease community in a BIG WAY, at NO EXTRA COST to you, listen up! The best way you can support our efforts to raise funds to be donated to these amazing LOCAL non-profits is to set up your own individual fundraising page! This is a page you can share with friends and family via email/text/social media post, and tracks the donations that you as an individual are able to raise. The top fundraisers will receive a prize, our profound thanks, social media fame, and a title more impressive than any royal title. This part of the race fundraiser is where you can really make a difference, so we encourage each and every participant to create a page and give it a go! We've made it as easy as possible for you to do. Simply set it up upon registration and start collecting donations.

On the day of the race we would love for you to share your photos and participation. Post them on our Facebook page and/or tag us in your social media posts at @race4ryland on Facebook and Instagram.  Be goofy, we expect it from many of you and don't forget to SHOW YOUR STRIPES! Use the hashtags listed below when posting.

• #race4ryland
• #showyourstripes
• #rarediseaseawareness
• #showyourrare
• #showyoucare
• #rarediseaseday
• #rarewarriorsupporter