Pebble Beach man wins for boy with rare disease

Adam Roach of Pebble Beach took first place in the Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland on Sunday, running for a charity called Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.

“I’ll forever be grateful to Adam,” Leeandra Archdeacon told KION, saying Roach ran and won for those who can’t.

Archdeacon said her son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he was 3-1/2 years old. She said the lifespan for males diagnosed with the neuromuscular disease is short. “They rarely live to see 20,” Archdeacon said. Nicholas is now 10 and is still able to walk.

The family recently moved from Salinas to El Dorado, east of Sacramento, where Nicholas is homeschooled. She said she and her son first met Roach through his wife, who was Nicholas’ occupational therapist while they lived in Salinas. She said Roach offered to run for Nicholas at the 13.1 mile Disneyland race. He finished first.

“I was part of team Nick. It was a really great experience,” Roach told KION.

Adam Roach, 32, is no newbie at winning races. He’s a four-time men’s champion of the Big Sur International Marathon. He plans on running the Boston Marathon and, for the sixth time, the Big Sur Marathon. Both races are in April.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy is a non-profit focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder that afflicts males and robs young men of muscle strength.