Les Tilley
Les Tilley's Story
I was born and raised in Independence MO, and I discovered a love of running when I joined the cross country team in high school. Although I wasn’t particularly competitive, I ran casually for years after graduating from college. Then in 2017, I had a seizure, which led to the discovery of the first lesion in my brain. While it wasn’t enough for a diagnosis, that experience lit a fire under me, and I began training for longer and longer distances. I started running 10ks, then half marathons. Eventually, I ran my first full marathon in California in 2022, and I was hooked; I set a personal goal of racing in all 50 states. Kansas came next. I started having some unusual symptoms shortly thereafter, but my doctor wrote it off as a pinched nerve. I kept training, and in the fall of 2023, I set my personal best time at the Philadelphia Marathon. Just two weeks later, my arms and legs went numb, and I went to the ER. After a 5-day hospital stay and a series of tests, it was official: I had Multiple Sclerosis. As I was recovering from my big flare up, I had a lot of difficulty running, but I discovered I could still ride a bike. However, I was anxious about cycling by myself. When I learned about Wrestling MS, it gave me hope that I could stay active even when my legs just don’t want to move the way they need to in order to run. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this team!