By Sunday, most Cornell students will probably be wrapped up in Fall Break plans, whether that means catching up with homework or with old friends. Junior John Lagedrost will be busy too, showing off his hometown of Chicago to fellow junior Matt Goldberg while they both complete their first marathons and raise thousands of dollars for a worthy cause.

The pair will be among the 40,000 runners expected to participate in the Chicago Marathon, to take place this Sunday, Oct. 11. The course covers 26.2 miles as it winds through 29 of the city’s most historic and diverse neighborhoods, with an expected 1.5 million spectators. This will be Goldberg’s first trip to Chicago and he’s looking forward to hitting mile 21, marked by the gilded gates of the Midwest’s largest Chinatown and the likes of cowbells and dragon performers. The pair will be running in support of the Friedrich’s Ataxia Research Alliance and, as of a week before the race, the boys broke the $10,000 fundraised mark.

Both Cornellians ran cross country in high school, Lagedrost in the western suburbs of Chicago and Goldberg in Westchester, N.Y., and had always dreamt of completing a marathon like the one in Chicago. As Matt explains it, “We just started throwing the idea around one day and realized we both had the same dream… Running in support of FARA is what really pushed us to go for it.”

The Friedrich’s Ataxia Research Alliance funds studies on Friedrich’s Ataxia, a rare degenerative neuromuscular disorder that affects only one of every 50,000 people in the U.S. The major indicators are a lack of coordination in limbs, curvature of the spine and serious heart conditions, all caused by a limit in the production of a protein called frataxin. Lage­drost and Goldberg were motivated to run for this cause because John’s sister, a high school junior, is one of those afflicted with F.A.

“My sister has struggled with her condition for years but it’s been within the past few years that it has become more severe,” Lagedrost said. “Since last year, she can no longer walk and things like handwriting are difficult.”

Using a scooter to maneuver around hallways in school and an electric keyboard to take notes in classes are necessary in managing with the condition. While there is no definitive treatment for F.A., great advancements have been made to understand its genetic causes.

The two started out with a goal of raising $2,000 for the cause, writing letters to relatives and reaching out through list serves on campus. The overwhelming support they received in response was phenomenal.

“We were sure some people would be excited about this but the whole thing’s been amazing,” Lagedrost said. “It’s been a chain reaction of people we’ve talked to talking to people they know and everyone helping out.”

The pair even put together a website, thefaramones.com, where instructions for donating can be found alongside their team and runner profiles.