16. Bill Bucklew - Going Farther in the Face of Parkinson's

Faster Forward with Troy Busot

Ep 16: Bill Bucklew
As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make yourself a glass of lemonade and then sip it while walking from one end of the United States to the other while raising awareness for Parkinson's Disease.

Our guest Bill Bucklew, waxes philosophic as he shares his journey through a diagnosis of young-onset Parkinsons in his early 40s. Not one to let it slow him down, it launched a series of finishes from Ironman Wisconsin, a stroll from Georgia to California, and has put him in-line to earn his 6-stars of the Abbot World Marathon Majors.

This is a conversation that I think will stay with me for the rest of my life. Bill is a super inspiring guy - a totally unassuming savage as you will see - I think you're going to love hearing his words and his story.

Athlinks Profile:
https://www.athlinks.com/athletes/333761019

Foundation: Uncorked Adventures:
https://www.uncorkedadventures.org

Parkinson's:

• 4% of all cases < 50
• 2nd most common degenerative disorder behind Alzheimer’s
• 2-5% hereditary increased risk

1999 Chicago Marathon as a 1 and done
1999-2012, did a bit of running

Symptoms in 2005, misdiagnosed as sciatica
No tremors, tightening

2012 Diagnosis
Young-onset Parkinson's
2012 Ironman Wisconsin post-diagnosis in case it was his last chance

2014 Attempted to swim across Lake Michigan
Lamp Ray
Cold Temps
Body continued freezing up do to PD

2020 Napa:
Dystonia - cramping, blew out shoe
Foot ripped out of shoe @ Napa marathon
Outro

Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission. Thanks again to Bill Bucklew for sharing this story, making us think, and hopefully, start being a more savage version of ourselves.

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Share it with friends far and wide to help spread the word, tell people about it when you're in line at the grocery store - and, until next time, happy racing everybody.