Glenn Råna (44) with ALS runs 10 for Grete!

- I made the choice quite early on to hunt for bright spots, says Glenn Råna who in June was diagnosed with ALS. It started with him starting to stumble on one leg, and the forces in his arms were quickly reduced. When the shape got worse in both legs and arms, he realized that something was wrong.

In the beginning it was a big shock, but I was also prepared that it could be something more serious than what my family knew, when I noticed that strange things happened to my body.
Glenn went from running a mile and training weights up to several times a week in November / December, but was already greatly reduced in March. He received the final message in early June, but he chose to keep it to himself for a while. Upset his family was the last thing he wanted to do.
- I also did not want to ruin the exam time for my oldest daughter or her russet time, so I downplayed everything for several months before I got the final diagnosis.
Decided to fight
At first Glenn thought it was all over, but he quickly decided that if he was going to die, he should at least not spend his last time sitting in a dark hole and being depressed. He should enjoy himself and enjoy what he values in this life; hiking, physical activity and their family.
- I therefore decided to fight! Not against the disease as such, but against evil thoughts, death and misery, and rather focus on all the positive things around me. I also used motivation from mental training, which I have used earlier in life, to think positively, see bright spots and think that there are many who actually feel worse than me. There are worse situations to be in, although there may not be as many worse diseases.
And the family has actually taken it tougher than me. For them, this has been a roller coaster, and especially for my wife and my oldest daughter as the youngest children are still spared from the worst outcome with this disease. However, they know that I have a disease that makes me completely dependent on a wheelchair, and will need help.
What keeps you up in everyday life?
- The thought of my children and family. They should have a life after this too, and then this journey will be the best possible regardless of whether I have 3 or 20 years with them. The focus should not be on the disease. And early on, Glenn made the choice to hunt for bright spots.
As I said, I had been a little prepared for the fact that it could be this disease and worked hard on myself for a few months all alone. This made it easier for me to cope with the message that came then. I have chosen to live to the fullest, chosen that the children should remember me as a happy, active and good father, and not as someone who just lay in a bed and disliked life. I want my wife to see a man who still has the great courage and ambitions I have otherwise had in life, even with a serious illness. I think it would make their experience of this disease easier to cope with, and I think I was right, even though we have our hard times too.
Runs 10 for Grete
Glenn has previously run a half marathon during Oslo, this year he has a plan to complete 10 for Grete.
- I have been very active before, everything from running, weight training, Taekwondo, mountain hikes and skiing. I had a plan to run a full marathon this year, and was to start training for the race in January after a lot of windmill training indoors last autumn. That's why I now want to do this. The physical limitations of this disease mean that a marathon will not be possible. I also did not think that the form was good enough longer to a 10 km, but I choose to push myself to try, as there was an incredibly nice bunch of old football friends and other old and new friends who wanted to help carry this out.
My goal of completing 10 for Grete is primarily to overcome my physical limitations and push myself to things I really can no longer. It gives a feeling of mastery that is absolutely enormous, and it strikes the disease back a bit, at least in my head even though I get sick for many days afterwards.
I also want to focus on mental health around people with serious fatal diseases. It is not so carefully how we implement, but one must not give up! Challenging the body and getting out to be with other people does so much for the head! In addition, I want to focus on the ALS case, which has EVERYTHING too little focus. Unfortunately, we are too few with the disease for it to be properly put on the agenda, but such a serious disease should certainly have a strong focus in society.
Chosen to be open about ALS
ALS is one of those diseases with a very high suicide rate, and I hope others in my situation and others after me, can see that they can have a wonderful life despite illness and limitations. I also hope that there can be more openness about the disease, and that more people talk about it and how serious it is.
We are all equipped differently when it comes to our psyche, but I still advise everyone to take the time to mourn, be sad and get things out, and not least seek help if necessary. It is important to talk about this! We spent many days just being together in the family, talking about everything and nothing. We cried a lot at first and were just us. It helped a lot. And after a few days I started to get out into nature. I went for walks with my brother and I also did some workouts. This was a great help to crawl back up from the dark hole. From an early age, I chose to be completely open about my illness, and therefore published a completely open post on Facebook where I asked people to talk about this. It kept me from getting unpleasant questions at the store, and it also led to our friends, neighbors and acquaintances getting in touch, and it was no longer as scary as it can be when someone gets a fatal illness.

MONICA
GUTUEN

AMBASSADOR

Age: 45

Residence: Bærum

Distance during the BMW Oslo Marathon 2020:
I run half, and of course aim to have the widest smile all the way.

Previous participation in the Oslo Marathon:
«10 for Grete» 2013, Half Marathon 2014 and 2015, 2017 and 2018 and marathon in 2019.

Three words that describe me:
Outgoing, Smiling, Energetic

Instagram: @muddylicious