Mallorca cystic fibrosis run: Marc's 5km on oxygen

Mallorca, Spain: Marc, 23, completes a five-kilometre charity run on oxygen on Monday, 28 September, as nearly 1,000 people take part in an event for cystic fibrosis. The non-competitive, inclusive route runs between El Molinar and Can Pastilla. Organiser Grupo Respiralia says the event calls for more research and treatments for everyone with the condition.

Five kilometres on oxygen

Marc says his limited lung capacity means he needs oxygen when he exercises. Finishing the course is a major challenge, but the work he has put in has helped him tackle things he could not do before.

His mutations mean he cannot take newer medicines that act on the CFTR protein. Marc is among the 10 per cent of people with cystic fibrosis who do not produce that protein. The medicines are bringing very positive results for people whose mutations allow them to make it, but they can have side effects and do not cure the disease. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition in which thick secretions disrupt the work of different organs.

Three children bring hundreds to the run

Joan, nine, Ona, four, and Lucía, one, also have cystic fibrosis. Each brings a group of more than 150 people to the event; together, the three bring in more than 480. In all, 15 people with the condition take part.

Grupo Respiralia says regular physical activity and physiotherapy can help improve their quality of life. Marc hopes research now under way will find a treatment for people who, like him, cannot take the newer medicines.

Topics: Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com