Stuart Shapiro
Doris Betuel
Meet Stuart Shapiro! Stuart (Stu to all who know him) and his wife, Judy, moved to Robson Ranch in 2020. Since his daughter’s (Marci) diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1998, Stu has been heavily involved with efforts to raise money and bring awareness to the plight of MS patients. MS is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system where the body attacks the protective covering of the nerves preventing signals from the brain to other parts of the body. From 1999-2017, he completed over 20 MS century bike rides in Arizona and San Diego. In 2014, Stu completed a 5-day 446–mile ride “Bike the US for MS” from Ocean Beach, Calif., to Tempe, Ariz. In 2017 while training for a century bike, he crashed his bike and fractured his pelvis, which ended his participation in bike events. After his recovery, in 2018, Stu continued his fight against MS and participated in MS Walk events in Arizona.
In 2024, Stu turned a milestone 75, and rather than slow down, he continued his relentless fight to bring awareness to the plight of MS patients. He was honored to be chosen as a MS ambassador in Arizona. He is the current Captain of the ‘Grandpa and the Footsteps’ team for the Walk MS: Phoenix 2025 event. In that role, he created an event to highlight the hardships that are faced everyday by those affected by this disease and to help raise money to end MS. With his love of long distance walking and hiking, it was an easy leap to put together a walking event that would challenge him and push him to go past the pain and discomfort that are endured daily by Marci and others affected by this disease. Thus was born the 160–mile Walk Challenge in which Stu will walk an astounding marathon distance of 26.2 miles each day for six days in a row. He will start his challenge on March 23, 2025, and complete his remarkable journey on March 29 at the Walk MS: Phoenix event at the Salt River Fields at the Talking Stick facility in Scottsdale, Ariz.
For those who want to see Stu in action, he trains daily by walking up to 17 miles a day throughout the Robson community. Also, on March 28, as part of his 160–mile walking challenge, he will be completing this portion of his walk here at Robson Ranch. If you see him around, be sure and give him a thumbs up! Here is his complete 6-day schedule:
March 23 and 24: Central Arizona Project Canal Trail in Marana, Ariz.
March 25: Sonoran Desert in Gila Bend, Ariz.
March 26 and 27: State Trust Land in Florence, Ariz.
March 28: in and around Robson Ranch
March 29: Salt River Fields at the Talking Stick facility in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Support Stu’s Journey
To follow Stu’s amazing journey, please go to his Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/mpmt4m8c. To support Stu Shapiro in his fight to end MS, please click on the donate button on his Facebook page. You can also go directly to the donation page by scanning the QR code with this article.
Thank you for supporting the fight against MS!