MS Fitness Challenge Podcast

Kris Wheeler is an award-winning documentary filmmaker currently in the production of a feature-length documentary about an MS Warrior who spent a lifetime defying odds while impacting countless lives with joyous inspiration. The film is titled Grace & The Great Divide-The Grace Ragland Story.

The film tells the story of the inspiring life of Grace Ragland, who, at age 57, raced time and disease in a seemingly impossible pursuit when she entered the world’s most epic mountain bike race, the grueling 2,800-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Race.

The Great Divide would prove to be the defining adventure of Grace’s life, but not for the reason most would think.

The story of Grace & The Great Divide is so much more than what one might assume at first glance. It's a deep dive into self-perceptions, how we define our self-worth, the things we're running to, running from, and why.

Nikki Reed has been managing MS for 17 years now. She was discharged from the Army National Guard after receiving her diagnosis in 2005. For the first 8 years of diagnosis, she was still running marathons and teaching high-intensity fitness classes. Around 2014 she went through the abandonment of herself and her 5 year old son, divorce, getting unjustly fired from her job of 10 years, and a move all in one year. Her health plummeted as her immune system fought her. Battling breast implant illness brought her unexplained weight gain, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, food allergies, IBS, kidney stones, rashes and the worst part was having to stop teaching fitness classes. Two years of that nightmare began the journey of a drug-free, faith-filled, alternative way of healing after the explant in 2017. Changing her perspective on exercise and moving aside her ego has been another hard challenge through the last 9 years. She currently lives in North Carolina with her son. She has a positive, uplifting podcast called 3 Blondes 1 Battle, that is led by three ladies all managing MS. Her titles are health coach for a nutrition company, real estate broker, and the co-founder of Conservative Women of Forsyth County

Mary Jordan represented Team USA in the sport of Para-Dressage at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in 2010. She was also a team alternate for the 2012 London Paralympics, the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, and was long-listed for the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.

Mary has competed throughout the United States, and also in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Norway, and England after her MS diagnosis.

Her latest challenge during the Pandemic was a complete anterior hip replacement, which unfortunately had complications that caused nerve damage in her leg. Undeterred, Mary rallied and started from scratch, focusing on her health, nutrition, and fitness, and was able to qualify for and compete at the US Para National Championships in 2021, finishing 2nd and 3rd.

Mary is a lifelong journalist and works full-time at The Anchorage by the Sea Resort in Ogunquit, Maine as the director of group sales and marketing. She volunteers with the nonprofit organization MS Stadiums for MS which has donated more than $100,000 to Johns Hopkins for MS research and assists families with MS. She is looking for her next paralympic partner for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

Jeana was diagnosed with MS 19 years ago. While not necessarily an "inactive" person before or after her diagnosis, it wasn’t until roughly 5 years ago that Jeana began her true fitness journey after receiving a road bike from a non-profit organization called Meat Fight. Something clicked after riding 150 miles over two days as part of her first BikeMS event; a spark had been ignited for what was first cycling, but soon led to pursuing other athletic goals including long-distance running and triathlons. She hopes that her endeavors will encourage others with MS to take on an epic challenge in whatever capacity! Jeana is from Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband and their two fur babies, rescue dogs Neko and Kermit. She works in education as a bilingual and ESL program manager, advocating for English language learners and families.

During the cold winter months, when most people move indoors to escape below-freezing temperatures, Gary Pinder heads outdoors into these frigid temperatures to seize his peak season of training.

Gary has had MS for 26 years. He exercises regularly, including playing indoor soccer weekly. With his understanding of his heat sensitivity, Gary utilizes the cold winter tempters, to build up his strength, and endurance by running long distances.

Gary has written for many MS publications about his journey and shares his strategies to remain empowered and active while living with MS.

Gary was born in England and moved to the United States for college and then graduate school and met his wife along the way. Gary and his wife have two, now adult children, and currently live in Annapolis, Maryland.

Nora Gocking is a writer, runner, and lover of coffee who lives in the great state of Kentucky with her husband and two children. Diagnosed with MS at the age of 35, Nora changed her diet, lost 180 pounds and became a runner. To date, she has completed 6 half marathons, 1 full marathon, and multiple 5Ks. In an effort to help others diagnosed with MS or facing challenges, Nora created Not Today, MS--a blog and podcast to share her story and encourage others to "choose joy, each and every day." Nora plans to spend the rest of her years on earth spreading joy and laughter and telling others about the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Ken Kaufman is the Founder and Clinic Director of Sarasota Sports Medicine, a chiropractic & functional nutrition clinic. Dr. Kaufman has helped thousands of individuals, professional athletes, and celebrities recover from physical injuries and help them overcome chronic, degenerative health conditions through plant-based nutrition. Through his own personal experience and extensive knowledge in nutritional research, he now dedicates his expertise to guiding his patients and developing technologies to help individuals achieve optimal health.

Heather Hackett has given 20 years to inspiring and promoting others to lead an active, healthy, and rewarding lifestyle. As a book publisher, author, trainer, and featured sports and nutrition writer, she has educated and empowered both children and adults to make life-changing choices. She has also evolved her knowledge and expertise in plant-based nutrition and the countless benefits it has on individuals while having a global impact.

Together, Heather and her husband Dr. Kaufman co-founded Optamiz Health and are launching the Optamiz app. The Optamiz app supports people in following a plant-based diet and is part of their mission to accelerate the plant-based movement to inspire global change.

Cheryl Hile has been running marathons since 2000. Cheryl's life changed in 2006 when a nagging injury turned out to be MS. Due to physical challenges, like foot drop, Cheryl struggled with keeping her exercise goals alive. She persisted despite her neurologist saying, “lower your expectations.” Cheryl got a brace called an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) to help her run without the fear of falling. To date, Cheryl has completed 56 marathons since diagnosis. She is the first person with MS to run seven marathons on seven continents… running them all in 12 months.

Cheryl built a team called “Run A Myelin My Shoes” in 2018 and in just three years they have grown to over 300 teammates representing 19 countries. Their goal is to encourage people with MS to keep pushing forward to the best of their abilities.

Brad Dunn and Kurtis Kracke from ThermApparel share their expertise on the benefits of cooling when living with MS! They also share evidence-based strategies on how to keep your cool when things heat up you can begin using immediately.

Tim Realbuto wrote and stars in the title role in the upcoming film Bobcat Moretti. Tim lost more weight for this role than any other actor in cinema history!

Rob Margolies is the co-writer, producer, and director of the film.

"Bobcat Moretti" is a heart-wrenching drama about an obese man with Multiple Sclerosis who takes up his late father’s sport of boxing to overcome immense personal tragedy and find inner peace.