Annual Jingle Bell Run expected to attract over a thousand runners in Lyndhurst

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - More than 53 million people in America have been diagnosed with arthritis. Toddlers as young a 18 months old can have it and, so far, there is no cure.

The Arthritis Foundation is working hard to change that with its treatment programs and its annual Jingle Bell Run.

Cleveland 19 News personalities Jamie Sullivan and Harry Boomer will co-host the event, which is expected to draw about 1,000 runners and walkers, including those with strollers and their pets. It’s taking place at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst on Dec. 9.

Stepfanie Baddour, the adult honoree for the Jingle Bell Run, was once a competitive baton twirler. She found out at 22 she has arthritis, the No. 1 cause of disability in America.

“It was not until after I had stopped competitive baton twirling where I continued to have joint pain. I distinctly remember one night laying in bed and just everything hurt, to the point the sheets touching my skin hurt my body,” says Baddour.

Darby Schwartz is the Executive Director at the Arthritis Foundation. She says they have a goal of $155,000 for 2018. So far, they’ve raised just shy of $85,000 of that.

Individuals and teams can still sign up and run or walk on behalf of themselves or someone they know.

“Right when you wake up in the morning and the joints are stiff the last thing you want to do is exercise, but really it should be the first thing because it helps get the joints lubricated and feeling better and that will make it easier to get through the entire day,” Schwartz said.

There are around 75,000 people diagnosed with arthritis in Ohio. Many of them are children. There are over 100 forms of arthritis, including juvenile arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout and lupus.

You can watch the whole conversation with host Harry Boomer and his guests on our Roku and Amazon Fire apps on demand and Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. on CW 43 Focus.

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