Over 45 runners from Faulkner County ran the Little Rock Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday to raise money and awareness for Neurofibromatosis, more commonly known as NF.

NF encompasses a set of distinct genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow along various types of nerves and, in addition, can affect the development of non-nervous tissues such as bones and skin. Neurofibromatosis causes tumors to grow anywhere on or in the body.

"It's not a rare disorder, but it's not that well known," said Lesley Oslica, President of the Arkansas Affiliate of the Children's Tumor Foundation. "NF is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, hereditary Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington's Disease and Tay Sachs combined, yet most people have never heard of it."

Oslica is member of the NF marathon team and has organized many of the runners from Faulkner County who were in Little Rock on Sunday. Oslica and her husband Connie are the parents of Katie, who has NF.

"After learning that our daughter had NF, we felt compelled to raise awareness of NF," Oslica said. "Joining the NF marathon team allows us to be a part of the ground breaking research that is being done in the NF field by raising funds for research."

The UCA Student Nurses Association (SNA) has also joined the efforts to raise awareness of NF. Senior Joe Fluech became the team captain of the SNA after learning about the Children's Tumor Foundation. He challenged all student nurses to embrace their extended roles of helping others and leading a healthy life by running or walking. The SNA have three members doing the full marathon, 13 members doing the half marathon, and two relay teams.

"The support of these groups has been tremendous," Oslica said. "We're fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our community who care and are willing to get involved and be an active part of helping to find a cure for NF."

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