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Race for Riley aims to help girl, 3, with serious illness

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

In three days, local residents will don their shorts and lace up their running shoes to compete in a five mile race to help a 3-year-old girl and other children who are battling a disorder called Mitochondrial Disease.

The event which is dubbed a “Race for Riley,” in honor of Riley Peek, a child who is suffering from the disease, will be held on April 30 at the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, 9250 Hutcheson Ferry Rd. in Palmetto.

The race will kick off at the Palmetto Campus at 8:30 a.m. rain or shine, and all are invited to participate.

The entry fee is $15 per person for those who register by April 15. After that day, the fee is $20 per person and can be paid on the day of the event.

Proceeds will be donated to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and will be used for research and education for the diagnosis, treatment and cure of mitochondrial disorders and to provide support to affected individuals and families.

So far, 200 people have signed up to participate, but Riley’s mom, Waynette Peek of Palmetto hope more people will sign up for the race.

Peek aims to attract a total of 500 participants in the event, which also will feature a 1 mile run at 9:15 a.m. and the “Tot Trot” at 9:30 a.m.

To date, Mrs. Peek has raised $48,000 simply by pounding the pavement. She said she has already met her personal goal, but she knows the more money raised to fight the disease that has afflicted her daughter’s speech abilities, her brain, muscles and gastrointestinal organs, the better.

“This has only been researched for about 10 years and we are trying to make an impact,” Peek said Tuesday from her Palmetto home.

Riley, a little girl who has blue eyes, blonde hair, an infectious laugh and beautiful smile, was diagnosed with the debilitating disease just one day after her second birthday.

“We actually knew something was wrong, but it took us a while to figure it out,” said Peek, a former elementary school teacher in South Fulton.

After a series of other disorders were ruled out, Riley received an invasive, yet expensive test that confirmed she had hereditary disease.

Peek, a married mother of two, with one more on the way, said she and her husband, Rodney, an air traffic controller, were devastated when they discovered the news.

“I was traumatized,” Peek said. “When I found out, it was like a lot of our hopes and dreams were shattered. It crushed us, but we are Christians, so the Lord has really given us the strength to make the best of this.”

Instead of crying about their daughter’s fate, the Peeks decided to become an advocate for Riley, a Joseph Sams student, and find ways to help other children who also suffer from the disease.

There is a 1 in 4,000 chance that a child will be born with the disease, Peek said. The average life expectancy is late childhood or early adulthood, so Peek is asking the community to aid her in her quest to help others.

Anyone interested in participating in the event can visit Riley’s Web site at www.raceforriley.org and download a registration form or e-mail Waynette Peek at waynette@raceforriley.org.