Father Runs Ragnar Relay For Child with Special Needs

Phoenix, AZ | March 23, 2007 - Eight years ago Conor Mills was born with Down syndrome. Ever since then his parents John & Maureen Mills have been involved in causes for special needs. So when Kathleen Rubi, Director of Best Buddies Arizona, asked John to organize a team for the Ragnar Relay Del Sol presented by NordicTrack, to raise money and awareness for people with intellectual disabilities, he jumped at the chance.

Eight years ago Conor Mills was born with Down syndrome. Ever since then his parents John & Maureen Mills have been involved in causes for special needs. So when Kathleen Rubi, Director of Best Buddies Arizona, asked John to organize a team for the Ragnar Relay Del Sol presented by NordicTrack, to raise money and awareness for people with intellectual disabilities, he jumped at the chance.

The Del Sol is a 189-mile, 12 teammate, 24-hour, relay adventure-fest that starts March 30th in Wickenburg, and ends March 31st in Scottsdale. John, a 16-time marathon finisher and recent qualifier for the Boston Marathon, could not think of a better way to further his cause. “We look forward to raising awareness for the Best Buddies program and its message. Conor has taught me to look at people’s abilities not their disabilities, if just one person receives that message because of our participation in the Ragnar Relay Del Sol it will be worth it.”

The mission of Best Buddies Arizona is to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment. As part of the Best Buddies program volunteers are matched into a one-to-one friendship with a person who has an intellectual disability. Best Buddies matches commit to making contact at least once a week and hanging out twice a month.

The Ragnar Relay Del Sol benefits Operation Kids, a national charity that distributes 100% of the donations it receives to 8 carefully selected charities. These 8 charities are known as the “OK Charities”, of which Best Buddies is one.

“When we heard about the Ragnar Relay Del Sol we jumped at the chance to field a team. It is a great opportunity to not only create awareness for Best Buddies, but to gain funding for our cause and to be involved in a great, high quality event,” said Kathleen Rubi.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Best Buddies involved in this relay. Kathleen, John, and the whole Best Buddies team exemplify what this race is all about. Its not necessarily about how fast you run the relay, it is about the friendships you make along the way. That is what makes the Del Sol unique,” said Race Director Dan Hill.

The Del Sol has a goal to earn $10,000 for Operation Kids, all of which will be donated directly to Best Buddies Arizona. Donations can be made online by visiting http://www.active.com/donate/DS07. For more information about Operation Kids, Best Buddies or any of the OK Charities visit www.operationkids.org. For more information about the Ragnar Relay Series visit www.ragnarrelay.com or call the Ragnar Relay hotline at (877) 83-RELAY.