Charla Heimer will be running 136.5 miles across the Libyan desert to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease.
After running eight marathons in under two years, including the Boston Marathon, Charla wanted more of a challenge and signed up for her first 50 mile ultra running endurance race; that’s all it took was only one hilly, technical terrain run to be hooked into the world of ultra-running.
Shortly after, she attended a Racing the Planet race in Egypt, where she learned everything about multi-day self-support ultra-running and navigation. And again, that’s all it took for her to be hooked on how to ultra run in survival mode in far-away places. In May of 2010, she completed a 155 mile multi-day race in the the Australian Outback.
While training numerous hours needed to cross the finish line at endurance races, Charla is currently raising three children and running her own consulting business. She has recently completed her first nonstop 100 mile race in 26 hours. The Libyan Challenge will be Charla’s 10th ultra race in 2 years.
Charla is combining her passion for global racing with raising funds for Parkinson’s, as her father-in-law is in its early stages. Due to lack of knowledge about Parkinson’s, her family is in denial and pretends not to notice the symptoms affecting the one they love. By racing for Parkinson’s, Charla hopes that it will bring her family together to learn more and to conquer the challenges that may come.
Charla appeared on NBC San Diego this morning, along with Parkinson’s Association of San Diego Executive Director Ron Hendrix, to talk about the Libyan Challenge and her run for Parkinson’s. To view the clip, go to
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/station/as-seen-on/Libyan_Challenge_San_Diego-113890764.html