MS Walk to take place Sunday, April 7

The Upstate New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will be holding its 13th annual MS Walk on Sunday, April 7.

The 2002 MS Walk will feature 15 MS Walk sites: Auburn, Brockport, Binghamton, Canandaigua, Corning, Geneseo, Greece, Ithaca, Newark, Oneonta, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Watertown and Webster. Each site will feature scenic walk routes and participants can choose to walk either an approximate 3 to 5 mile accessible route or a 10-mile route. Rest stops with food and beverages will be stationed along the route and a light lunch and entertainment will be provided at the finish line. Check in time is at 9 a.m. and the MS Walk will begin at 10 a.m.: Participants are reminded to set your clocks ahead for daylight savings the evening before the walk.

The MS Walk is the chapter's largest fundraising event supporting local programs and services and national research for people living with multiple sclerosis and their families. This year, more than 5,500 people are expected to raise in excess of $655,000 in Upstate New York.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease that randomly attacks the central nervous system, gradually wearing away control over one's body. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. Symptoms may be mild such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or blindness. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of the disease in any one person cannot be predicted.