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Austin resident pedals toward a cure for multiple sclerosis
By Olivia Aldridge
April 25, 2025 at 11:48 AM CDT
This weekend, Austin resident Sarah Reed will head to the Texas Capitol, strap on her helmet, and bike 150 miles over two days. She’s one of more than 5,000 riders in this year’s ACC Texas MS 150 charity ride, which raises funds for research into multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
Reed also happens to be an MS patient herself.
“I have made some adjustments while riding long-distance, especially for something like the 150,” she said. “I listen to my body, but I also want to push myself, because I’m so blessed to be able to ride.”
Journey to a diagnosis
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates that more than 850,000 Americans live with MS, which causes a person’s immune system to attack the protective coating that surrounds nerve fibers. Symptoms vary, but can include numbness, vision loss, mobility challenges, weakness and trouble with memory or other cognitive issues. Some patients may have occasional symptomatic episodes, whereas patients with progressive forms of MS may see a steady worsening of symptoms that restricts their ability to walk or do other normal activities.
The first symptom Reed noticed was numbness in her toes during runs. She had taken up running again after going through extensive rehab and physical therapy for a severe back injury from her college track-and-field days.
At first, she hoped the numbness could be solved with a better pair of running shoes. But it persisted, traveling up her shins and thighs.
“I remember instances of shaving my legs and not feeling the razor on my thighs,” Reed said. “That’s when I knew I had to go see a neurologist.”
Sarah Reed talks with other cyclists at the Veloway as they prepare for a 150-mile ride in the days to come. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
Around six months of medical tests ensued. Reed was just 25 years old when her doctor called to give her the news. After months of mysterious symptoms, she was relieved to have an answer.
“My immediate response was thank you,” she said.
Still, learning to adjust her lifestyle to support her health while living with the chronic disease was difficult. She said she had to learn what it meant to listen to her body in order to remain active.
“If I went and did a workout with friends, and then went to the pool, and then we all went and had food, and then we were going to go out dancing that night, my body was tired,” she said. “I ended up having to cancel a lot of plans over and over and over again, and I learned that's what they mean by listening to your body. You’ve got to slow down. You've got to wait till your body says, ‘I have energy.’”
Searching for more treatments
Reed began treatment the day after receiving her diagnosis. That was also the day that she learned MS has no cure. She immediately called the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to ask how she could get involved with research efforts.
“I said, ‘I just need to know, how can I help to get a cure for this? What do I need to do?’” Reed said.
That was back in 2009. At the time, there were just a handful of drugs available to treat MS. Now, there are around two dozen. There is still no cure, but medical advancements have made MS more manageable by reducing symptom relapses and delaying progression of the disease.
However, some government-funded research initiatives could be at risk. A federal research program benefiting veterans with MS is currently unfunded. The Trump administration has also frozen National Institutes of Health funding to Harvard University, which has made breakthroughs in understanding the possible causes of MS.
DeAndra Stanley, president of the National MS Society’s South Central Chapter, said treatments for more aggressive cases of MS are still needed and losing these types of funding could have a significant impact.
“Government and academic research … does play a significant role,” Stanley said. “As an organization, we're monitoring and seeing where we need to pivot and respond when necessary.”
Riding for research
In light of these uncertainties, grassroots fundraising efforts like the Texas MS 150 remain important.
Reed — whose day job involves fundraising at the National Parks Conservation Association — has also turned her skills toward fundraising for MS research as a cyclist. This will be her seventh MS 150 ride.
In 2019, she received her bike from Meat Fight, a Dallas-based nonprofit that raises money for MS research at barbecue events and donates bikes to people with the disease.
“I told them I was a former athlete and that I needed something to kind of keep me going athletic-wise,” she said.
The National MS Society aims to raise $10.75 million for MS research with this year’s ride. Reed personally aims to raise $6,500 of that. She’ll earn the money from folks who pledge to support her ride — 75 miles from the Capitol to La Grange, Texas on Saturday, followed by another 75 miles to College Station on Sunday. Other riders will head to La Grange from Houston.
Sarah Reed (right), and from left, Tracy Lemmond and Doug Baron, Texas MS 150 participants, pose for a photo while riding bikes at the Veloway. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
For a ride like this, Reed said she has to be mindful of her body’s needs.
“You have some avid cyclists who will stop for 10 seconds, get their fuel and get on the road,” she said. “I will stop and stretch. I will shake out my legs, my feet, my hands, anything that kind of went tingly, and then I'll keep going.”
She said it also helps to know that the people who have pledged their support understand she may not be able to finish the ride if health issues crop up.
"I think that they understand that if I don't get the whole 150 in that I didn't fail," she said.
Reed isn’t the only MS patient who will tackle the ride. Some riders participate to support a friend or family member with the disease, but others, like Reed, will sport an “I Ride with MS” jersey this weekend.
“I think that if a rider passes us, I think it would be amazing if you just yell, ‘Keep going’!” she said.
Reed also happens to be an MS patient herself.
“I have made some adjustments while riding long-distance, especially for something like the 150,” she said. “I listen to my body, but I also want to push myself, because I’m so blessed to be able to ride.”
Journey to a diagnosis
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates that more than 850,000 Americans live with MS, which causes a person’s immune system to attack the protective coating that surrounds nerve fibers. Symptoms vary, but can include numbness, vision loss, mobility challenges, weakness and trouble with memory or other cognitive issues. Some patients may have occasional symptomatic episodes, whereas patients with progressive forms of MS may see a steady worsening of symptoms that restricts their ability to walk or do other normal activities.
The first symptom Reed noticed was numbness in her toes during runs. She had taken up running again after going through extensive rehab and physical therapy for a severe back injury from her college track-and-field days.
At first, she hoped the numbness could be solved with a better pair of running shoes. But it persisted, traveling up her shins and thighs.
“I remember instances of shaving my legs and not feeling the razor on my thighs,” Reed said. “That’s when I knew I had to go see a neurologist.”
Sarah Reed talks with other cyclists at the Veloway as they prepare for a 150-mile ride in the days to come. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
Around six months of medical tests ensued. Reed was just 25 years old when her doctor called to give her the news. After months of mysterious symptoms, she was relieved to have an answer.
“My immediate response was thank you,” she said.
Still, learning to adjust her lifestyle to support her health while living with the chronic disease was difficult. She said she had to learn what it meant to listen to her body in order to remain active.
“If I went and did a workout with friends, and then went to the pool, and then we all went and had food, and then we were going to go out dancing that night, my body was tired,” she said. “I ended up having to cancel a lot of plans over and over and over again, and I learned that's what they mean by listening to your body. You’ve got to slow down. You've got to wait till your body says, ‘I have energy.’”
Searching for more treatments
Reed began treatment the day after receiving her diagnosis. That was also the day that she learned MS has no cure. She immediately called the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to ask how she could get involved with research efforts.
“I said, ‘I just need to know, how can I help to get a cure for this? What do I need to do?’” Reed said.
That was back in 2009. At the time, there were just a handful of drugs available to treat MS. Now, there are around two dozen. There is still no cure, but medical advancements have made MS more manageable by reducing symptom relapses and delaying progression of the disease.
However, some government-funded research initiatives could be at risk. A federal research program benefiting veterans with MS is currently unfunded. The Trump administration has also frozen National Institutes of Health funding to Harvard University, which has made breakthroughs in understanding the possible causes of MS.
DeAndra Stanley, president of the National MS Society’s South Central Chapter, said treatments for more aggressive cases of MS are still needed and losing these types of funding could have a significant impact.
“Government and academic research … does play a significant role,” Stanley said. “As an organization, we're monitoring and seeing where we need to pivot and respond when necessary.”
Riding for research
In light of these uncertainties, grassroots fundraising efforts like the Texas MS 150 remain important.
Reed — whose day job involves fundraising at the National Parks Conservation Association — has also turned her skills toward fundraising for MS research as a cyclist. This will be her seventh MS 150 ride.
In 2019, she received her bike from Meat Fight, a Dallas-based nonprofit that raises money for MS research at barbecue events and donates bikes to people with the disease.
“I told them I was a former athlete and that I needed something to kind of keep me going athletic-wise,” she said.
The National MS Society aims to raise $10.75 million for MS research with this year’s ride. Reed personally aims to raise $6,500 of that. She’ll earn the money from folks who pledge to support her ride — 75 miles from the Capitol to La Grange, Texas on Saturday, followed by another 75 miles to College Station on Sunday. Other riders will head to La Grange from Houston.
Sarah Reed (right), and from left, Tracy Lemmond and Doug Baron, Texas MS 150 participants, pose for a photo while riding bikes at the Veloway. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
For a ride like this, Reed said she has to be mindful of her body’s needs.
“You have some avid cyclists who will stop for 10 seconds, get their fuel and get on the road,” she said. “I will stop and stretch. I will shake out my legs, my feet, my hands, anything that kind of went tingly, and then I'll keep going.”
She said it also helps to know that the people who have pledged their support understand she may not be able to finish the ride if health issues crop up.
"I think that they understand that if I don't get the whole 150 in that I didn't fail," she said.
Reed isn’t the only MS patient who will tackle the ride. Some riders participate to support a friend or family member with the disease, but others, like Reed, will sport an “I Ride with MS” jersey this weekend.
“I think that if a rider passes us, I think it would be amazing if you just yell, ‘Keep going’!” she said.