St. Louis (May 1, 2018) –  The Festival of Miles Foundation is pleased to announce Murelle Plotner of St. Joseph, IL as its Athlete in Need for 2018. Festival of Miles Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to promote the sport of track and field and give back to athletes in need. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales support an athlete in need. This year’s Festival of Miles, which will be held on May 31, will benefit Murelle Plotner.

Murelle caught the eyes of local runners prior to the GO! St. Louis Marathon in April, when she was highlighted by this news story on KSDK. Murelle comes from a family of runners. Her father is the middle school cross country and track coach in her home town, and she enjoyed her time in middle school running with her team. In 2013, Murelle was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells. She received a bone marrow transplant. Her condition kept her from running on her high school cross country and track teams, but she stayed connected by being the manager for her teams. The MDS began to affect her skin and joints, which was fixable, but it also affected her lungs. By 2017, her lung function had dropped to 14%. She was then eligible to be put on a lung transplant waiting list. During this time, she required 2 liters of oxygen while sitting and 3 liters while walking, yet she still managed to find the strength to run on a treadmill while hooked up to oxygen.

On May 10, 2017, 3 and ½ months after being put on the transplant list, Murelle got a call that she had come up on the list. The very next day she was in the hospital receiving a lung transplant. She was walking within a few days and stayed at the Ronald McDonald House with her mother and brother for 100 days following the surgery. Unfortunately, in February of 2018, she developed an infection, and she has been back at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis to receive a rigorous treatment of blood and platelet transfusions.

Join us on May 31, 2018 at SLUH to cheer on all the competitors on the track, as well as to cheer on this determined young woman.