We are turning a birthday into a movement. The kind you feel in your legs, your lungs, and your heart.

This fall, our founder, comedic speaker and creative artist Kellye Howard-Jue, turns 45. Instead of cake and candles (okay, there might be cake), she is inviting you to walk, run, and roll with us along Lake Michigan for the Founders' 45th Birthday 4.5K.

MS-ing Around is a 501(c)(3) Joy-centered organization that empowers individuals ages 16 and older living with an autoimmune disease to lead with Joy, connect, and thrive, not just survive. We do this through edutainment, empowerment, and community engagement, all rooted in one belief: JOY and EASE are a right, not a reward, and they belong to every body and every diagnosis.

This 4.5K is our Joy philosophy in motion. Here is why every piece of it matters rooted in JOY & Science.

Why movement matters:
When you live with an autoimmune disease, fatigue can run the show. The research is hopeful. Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce fatigue, lift mood, and improve quality of life for people with conditions like MS, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, without worsening disease activity. Movement works like a gentle signal to the body, easing inflammation and building strength on your terms. That is why our route is flat, paved, and roll friendly, with tiers from a gentle half mile to the full 4.5K. You set the pace. Your body leads.

Why joy matters:
Joy is not fluff, it is physiology. Laughter has been shown to lower cortisol, the body's main stress hormone (one research review found a single good laugh can drop it by roughly a third), while lifting the feel good chemicals and immune cells that help us cope. For a community that is so often handed fear first, choosing joy is a radical, healing act. That is the heartbeat of our work and of this day: humor as healing, JOY on PURPOSE, movement as medicine.

Why engagement matters:
We are not built to do hard things alone. When researchers pooled data from millions of people, they found that loneliness and isolation raise the risk of early death, and the U.S. Surgeon General has compared the toll of disconnection to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Community is not a nice extra. It is medicine. So this is not a solo race against a clock. It is teams, friends, families, and neighbors moving together, then celebrating together.

Join the Joy:
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, we gather at Oakwood "Letter to Bessie Coleman" art installment, at 39th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, right along the lake.

You pick your distance, from the gentle half mile to the full 4.5K, with a rest stop at every turn. Whatever you choose, you cross the same finish line to the same cheer, and then we celebrate with a lakeside BBQ. Come for the walk. Stay for the joy.

Every dollar stays close to home. All proceeds benefit MS-ing Around's current and future programming, the workshops, the community, and the Joy we are building with our Joy Magnets, the people living with an autoimmune disease.

How to JOY with us:
1. Register/select your ticket!... Starting at $29.00
2. Start a team or join one, and invite your people to walk, roll, and give with you.
3. Share your page. Every gift moves us closer to our goal, and closer to a world where no one faces an autoimmune diagnosis alone.

A gentle note: move at your own pace, rest when you need to, and check with your care team about what is right for you. There is no wrong way to do this. Showing up is the win.

Joy & Ease Beyond the Disease.

MS-ing Around Founders 4.5K Walk/Run/Roll

An Autoimmunity Community Celebration of Movement - All mobility levels welcomed.

A Joy Maker

Team Members