Category: Events

For Tiffany Hotchkiss, running has long been an anchor in a full, fast-moving life. Long training blocks mean fitting high mileage around a full-time career, regular travel, and everyday family routines. Yet whether she is logging early miles before the workday begins or chasing the fading light at dusk, she finds clarity in the rhythm…

When Taylor Lantz laces up her running shoes before dawn on Saturday mornings, she takes the subway all the way uptown to West 168th Street, meets her closest friends, and runs the entire length of Manhattan back down to East 3rd. It is an ambitious route through the city she now calls home, but on…

When Laura Gonçalves Landi steps up to the starting line of the TCS New York City Marathon this November, she won’t be running alone. She will be carrying a lesson learned from a special student across two transformative years inside a preschool classroom in Brazil. Laura, 31, has been running since she was a teenager….

On Sunday, November 2nd, as tens of thousands of runners took to the streets of New York City, five dedicated athletes wore the AFBS logo with a profound sense of purpose. This was the main event. Our Team AFBS runners—Finley Craig, Leonardo Oliveira, Fernanda Depari Estelles Martins, Aidan Andrews, and Amara Andrews—embarked on the 26.2-mile…

For Leonardo Oliveira, running isn’t just exercise; it’s a way of life. “Running has been my favorite activity for 20+ years,” he shares. “It’s meditation to me, where I balance out the stress and generate ideas.” This November, the 45-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, is bringing that meditative focus to his third marathon—the TCS New…

For Finley Craig, a full-time Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Colorado Boulder, “rocket science” isn’t just a figure of speech—it’s her daily homework. This November, she’s applying the same intense focus she gives her school work to a new challenge: running her first-ever TCS New York City Marathon. As a member of Team…

For Fernanda Depari Estelles Martins of São Paulo, Brazil, taking on a new challenge is second nature. Last year, to celebrate her milestone 40th birthday, she completed an incredible 40 races. This year, she’s channeling that same determination into her biggest athletic challenge yet: the TCS New York City Marathon. But this race is different….

On Sunday, November 2nd, Team AFBS’s dedicated runners will be at the starting line of the TCS New York City Marathon. Among them are mother and son Amara and Aidan Andrews. They are each running 26.2 miles to honor Liv Shimanovsky, a 13-year-old born with the rare neuromuscular disease, Nemaline Myopathy (NM). NM causes muscle…

The much-anticipated 2025 SciFam Conference, held from August 1-5 in Philadelphia, has concluded, and AFBS finds itself newly re-energized by the connections made and progress shared! This vital gathering brought together individuals and families affected by NM, Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD), and Titinopathy, alongside a passionate group of clinicians and researchers from around the globe….

A Foundation Building Strength (AFBS) is absolutely thrilled to present our NM Awareness Month Recap and look back on a truly impactful May! For families and individuals touched by this rare neuromuscular disease, awareness is deeply personal – it’s about sharing our stories, speeding up research, and ultimately, building a path toward effective treatments. Our…

May is Nemaline Myopathy Awareness Month, a time for our community to come together, share our stories, and amplify our voices. This year, A Foundation Building Strength is thrilled to introduce an exciting new way for everyone – NM community members and the public alike – to get involved: The NM Awareness Share-A-Thon! WHAT IS…