Arthritis can sometimes take away someone’s mobility, but one local woman with the painful condition is not letting it stop her running. Despite her condition, she’s going to raise money to fight the good fight against the painful degeneration of people’s joints.

To fight that battle, Stephanie Sophocleous of Jasper wants your cans, bottles and other recyclables. She wants to use them to raise $5,600 by November 4 so she can run a half-marathon in the Cayman Islands to raise awareness about arthritis. Money from the fundraising will also go towards medical research into curing and easing the pain of arthritis as well awareness programs for people who have been diagnosed. The run is being organized through the Arthritis Society, through their Joints in Motion program. If Sophocleous can raise the money, the society will get her to the Caymans.

“I don’t know anyone else in town raising this kind of awareness. There’s the runs for M.S. and cancer and those are all some of the best causes, but you never really hear anyone out there doing it for arthritis,” said Sophocleous.

Sophocleous, 26, was diagnosed with sero-negative arthritis when she was 20. Her condition is not genetic and does not to appear to have been passed down through her bloodlines. Sophocleous said she is just one of the “lucky few.”

The arthritis affects Sophocleous’s hands, feet and in recent years, her eyes.

“There are over 100 different types of arthritis,” said Sophocleous.

Sophocleous has run fundraising marathons for arthritis before. Last year, she ran a half marathon (21 km) again, this time in Barbados through the Arthritis Society. 

“It was so much fun. Meeting all of these people and learning about their stories,” said Sophocleous. “There was always people smiling, by the side of the road. It really pushed me on.”

There, she met many people who are fighting just like her. She talks of hearing about two-year-old children who have arthritis and the unfairness of it all makes her well up and cry. 

“There are just so many different people with stories about arthritis,” she said. “It’s too much sometimes.”

Her step-grandmother has rheumatoid arthritis and Sophocleous says she is running and raising money for her.

“We were asked to run for one of our heroes and I picked her because she’s just shown so much strength dealing with her arthritis,” said Sophocleous.

So far, Sophocleous has had some luck raising money for the marathon. On May 29, at a silent auction in Calgary, she managed to raise over $1,000 in donations from Mountain Park Lodges, Pyramid Lake Resorts and Tekarra Lodge.

People are encouraged to drop off cans, bottles and any other recyclable that can bring in a refund to the bottle depot on Saturday, July 3, 2010. The bottle depot will be closed that day to handle all of the donations, and while money won’t be given out to customers, people can drop off refundable bottles to help out the arthritis cause.

If you would like to donate your refundable bottles before then, Sophocleous can be reached at steph_sophocleous@hotmail.com or 780-883-0628.