New Philadelphia med student racing 75 miles for Parkinson’s research
DOVER (WJER) (August 29, 2024) – A series of ultramarathons are taking place at Camp Tuscazoar this weekend. A 2017 Tuscarawas Central Catholic graduate and current medical student is turning the 75-mile run into a fundraiser to honor one of his inspirations.
Nick Sciarretti attends NEOMED – Northeast Ohio Medical University – and ran in a couple of 50-mile ultra races last summer.
“I’ve been really lucky to find a couple of other friends in my class who had the same crazy idea as me,” Sciarretti said, referring to classmates Hunter Bonfiglio of Akron and Alex Keith of Hartville.
The friends found inspiration in Dr. Sarah Wittingham, a faculty member and wife of NEOMED President John Langell. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years ago but still races.
“She was actually invited to participate in the Iron World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, and she finished, which is incredible. She has been really a huge inspiration for myself and my friends as well, and she raised quite a bit of money for Parkinson’s research.”
That gave Sciarretti and his friends the idea to use the Tuscazoar 75-mile endurance race as an opportunity to raise money for Parkinson’s research. They initially thought $5,000 to $10,000 would be a reasonable goal, but the NEOMED fundraising team had bigger ideas.
“Our goal was to raise $50,000 actually, which is bigger than we could actually imagine, with this being the 50th anniversary of NEOMED’s founding. To date, I believe we are at a little over $57,000, which I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for that.”
Sciarretti, who is from New Philadelphia and plans to be a physician, says this weekend’s race 10 minutes from home at Camp Tuscazoar now means more. He expects walking won’t be easy for a few days after running 75 miles in about 20 hours this Saturday.
“Once you finish, you’re kind of on an endorphin high. There’s no greater feeling than to accomplish something you put in a lot of training for … but after the race, you feel pretty beat up. It’s difficult to walk for a few days. Your feet – you get blisters, and you legs get pretty beat up. But it’s all worth it, especially in this case, with being able to raise so much money for Parkinson’s research.”
Donations to NEOMED’s Parkinson’s disease fundraising efforts can be made at: