Oswego Woman Running 200-Mile Race To Honor Mother Who Had Rare Genetic Disease

Huntington’s disease is terrible. The breakdown of nerve cells in the brain can first manifest as depression or difficulty walking. As the disease progresses, a person will lose muscle control and mental faculties. Late in the disease, an individual will be confined to a bed and be unable to speak. There is no cure, and the condition is fatal.

“Unfortunately a lot of people commit suicide when they have this disease, because they don’t want to go through it,” Tiffany Dore said. The counselor from Oswego saw the disease firsthand as she watched her mother, Linda Brown, suffer through it.

“We were very close,” Dore said. Tiffany’s mother suffered from Huntington's but died after a stroke in May 2015.

Tiffany Dore (right) with her mother, Linda Brown, in 2010

Dore said she was angry in the year following her mother’s death, but her feelings gradually changed.

“I kind of buried my feelings…at some point I need to deal with it,” Dore said. “I cry of course, but I don’t think I’ve really grieved it yet.

“Now I just miss her a lot. I have had a really, really hard time since she passed away,” Dore said.

Dore acknowledged that many people aren’t aware of Huntington’s disease. “I want people to know that it’s destroying families. Once it’s in your family it keeps getting passed on,” she said.

The disease is genetic. Children of those diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease have a 50 percent chance of having the condition.

Symptoms usually appear when a person is in their 30s or 40s. Tiffany is 38, and has declined to be tested for the disease.

“If I find out that I have it, I’m living in fear, and there’s nothing they can do about it,” Dore said. She and her husband have decided not to have children.

Instead of living in fear, Dore runs races — long races.

Tiffany Dore at a race in June 2013

Tiffany did her first marathon in 2008 and has completed 19 others around the county. She’s run several 100-mile races and one that was 150 miles.

In a few weeks, she will be pushing her physical and mental limits at the McNaughton Park 200 Mile Race in Pekin, Illinois, near Peoria. The race is conducted on a 10-mile loop, and runners will have 72 hours to complete 20 laps.

There is a total of 30,000 feet of elevation change on the course. One portion of the race is so steep that runners use a rope to climb up a slope.

This will be Dore’s third attempt at completing the 200-mile race. On her previous tries in 2015 and 2016, her Achilles tendons became inflamed after about 130 miles. During last year’s attempt, Dore ran several miles in just her socks so her shoes wouldn’t rub against the inflamed tendons.

“It’s probably going to happen again, it’s just a matter of how I can take care of it,” Dore said. She has focused on strengthening her calves and will use ice and tape to control inflammation during the race.

Dore says she trains three hours every day and runs between 70 and 80 miles every week.

Dore often trains by dragging a tire as she runs

The race is so long that Dore will need to eat during the competition. Dore’s husband, Dan, keeps her supplied with fruit, pasta, pizza, chicken noodle soup and cheeseburgers during her long races. Aid stations on the race course also provide meatball sandwiches, pancakes and bacon.

“I’ll powerwalk and eat, then start running again,” Dore said.

Dore said she drinks Ensure, Kool-Aid and Pedialyte during the race to hydrate and help replace the sodium she loses by continuously sweating. Even with careful fluid intake and constant nutrition, Dore has experienced hallucinations brought on by extreme exertion and a lack of sleep.

In the early morning hours of her 150-mile race, Dore thought that grass covered in frost was shredded money. During her last 200-mile race attempt, she thought she saw several dogs along the course that weren't actually there.

“Her mental motivation is incredible,” said Shawn Brandon, one of Dore’s training partners.

Brandon, 44, of Morton, Illinois, was the race director of the Cry Me a River 100-mile race in July 2016. The race was in the “heat of the summer” and had nearly 24,000 feet of elevation change. Brandon said the tough course “chewed up” many tough male runners he knew.

“She finished it like a champ,” Brandon said. Dore was the only woman to complete the race. She finished the 100 miles in just more than 32 and a half hours. Brandon and Dore plan on running the first 100 miles of the upcoming race together.

Dore and training partner Shawn Brandon after a 100-mile race in Wisconsin in June 2016

“I have run these races because I love the competition and love pushing my body,” Dore said. “Now I run these races for my mom. She was my biggest fan and was always so proud of me and my running.”

Dore is hoping to raise $2,000 for Huntington’s disease research in honor of her mother in the weeks leading up to the competition.

“Before every race, I go to the cemetery to talk to her. I run with a special necklace on that has a copy of her signature and her picture so I know she is with me,” Dore said.

Map showing the race location, powered by Google.

The 200-mile race will start at 4 p.m. on April 6 in Pekin, Illinois.

As of Wednesday, Tiffany has raised $610 toward her $2,000 goal. Donations can be made here.

Photo at top: Tiffany Dore holds her mother's hand after she was taken off life support in May 2015. All photos provided by Tiffany Dore.