La travesía de Michael Ring con GBS

Michael Ring at the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half, one of 185 NYRR races he's completed.

In 2014, Michael Ring drove up to the Boston Marathon to cheer on fellow runners. Several days later he experienced symptoms that he first thought were Lyme disease. His condition worsened, and he was eventually diagnosed with acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), a rare variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

Michael spent a week in intensive care and a total of 135 days in the hospital. He suspects his condition was triggered by eating undercooked chicken at a road stop on the way back from Boston.

A Recovery Journey

Though his 10-year recovery has been full of challenges, Michael maintains an optimistic and even good-humored perspective. He jokes that he’s “doubly lucky” to have a rare variant of a rare disease.

He explains that GBS generally affects the sheaths that protect motor nerves. "When they heal, the motor nerves start working again. For me, my motor nerves were damaged, and my neuropathy is basically permanent.”

Initially unable to move his arms and legs at all, he progressed to using a wheelchair, then crutches, and finally to walking with a cane. His first race back was the 2016 Al Gordon 4M in Prospect Park, which he completed in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

Running with Achilles

Michael is a lifelong Brooklynite, born and raised in Sheepshead Bay and a resident of Park Slope since 1988. He started running in high school and has been a member of NYRR since 1979. Now 61, he's run 185 NYRR races including at least 24 New York City Marathons.

The most significant effect of GBS on his running is “a pretty significant foot drop”—difficulty lifting the front part of the foot. He wears ankle braces to compensate. “Without my ankle braces, I would trip over my own two feet,” he said.

“I also have a lot of weakness in my hands so if I'm being handed water from a volunteer during a race, I'm unable to grab it,” he added, and for this reason, he runs with Achilles guides. “They also navigate crowds for me as I'm not especially agile and can't dart in and out of a crowded water station.” This symptom worsens in longer races. 

A member of Prospect Park Track Club and Achilles International, Michael works out with Achilles in Brooklyn twice a week. “I've always believed that running together as a group is basic to our biology as humans,” he said.

The Brooklyn chapter of Achilles was created for him nine years ago. “I would not have been able to travel to Central Park because when I first joined Achilles, I was a power wheelchair user.” In races he wears a PPTC T-shirt with the Achilles logo pinned to the front.

No Comparisons

Before GBS, Michael had a marathon best time of sub–four hours. In his first marathon after his diagnosis, he completed the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon in 9 hours and 52 minutes. He tends not to dwell on such comparisons; instead, he’s inspired by a quote from Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.”

That thought will be top of mind as he runs the Achilles Hope & Possibility 4M this weekend and prepares for the TCS New York City Marathon in November.

The Guillain-Barre Foundation offers information about GBS for patients and those affected by the syndrome worldwide. Those registering as a patient in NYC will likely be referred to Michael Ring.

You can read Michael's blog here.