Returning to Mission Bay in 2022

Fun, Fitness and Food Highlight San Diego’s Largest Springtime Epilepsy Awareness Event

The Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego will host the 23rd annual Sharon’s Ride. Run. Walk. on Sunday, April 24, 2022. The event is held in honor of Sharon Rosenfeld, a nurse and teacher who was killed during a cross-country bicycle ride in 1993. Neurologists William Rosenfeld and Susan Lippmann, specialists in epilepsy, launched the event in 1996 in memory of Rosenfeld’s sister, who cared deeply about people with epilepsy and advocated for helmet safety.

The event is comprised of a 15-mile bike ride along the waterfront and includes a 5K fun run / walk. A post-event finish line festival will be held outside along the scenic shores of Mission Bay with food, prizes and activities for adults and children.

All proceeds will go to the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego, which has served the San Diego community since 1954, offering advocacy and counseling for families, children and adults, seizure first aid training, Expressive Arts therapy, summer camp for kids and teens and a variety of supportive services. All these services are provided at no cost and are available to anyone whose life is touched by epilepsy.

Epilepsy is the world’s 4th most common neurological disorder with no boundaries for age, gender, income, race, ethnicity, or geographic location. In San Diego County alone, an estimated 50,000 people have been diagnosed with epilepsy and many more are touched by the disease.

“Sharon’s Ride has not only become a major awareness and fundraising initiative, but a spring tradition for our community to come together in beautiful Mission Bay for a morning of fitness, food and fun,” Wendy Urushima-Conn, president and chief executive officer of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County shared with GB Magazine.

Wendy previously served as president and CEO of the Asian Business Association and has a very personal reason for serving in this Epilepsy leadership role — her own daughter Reiko suffers from the neurological disorder but is doing well.

“We know that 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their lifetime and 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy,” she added. “The funds we raise from this event directly supports our local foundation’s role in helping everyone affected by epilepsy through education, advocacy and research.”

For more information on sponsorship and donor opportunities for Sharon’s Ride or to sign up to participate and form a team, please visit: www.epilepsysandiego.org.