By Peter Sclafani, Special Writer
The room is dark. It is the middle of the night, and James Mangini III is lying in his bed when suddenly his eyes open widely, and he thinks “Run.”
Almost 1,000 miles away his father, James Mangini Jr., is in his bed in Hillsborough. The next morning, he is going to get up and take a variety of medications just to do simple things, like walk or button a shirt without a problem.
Mr. Mangini Jr. was once an active member in the community. He has a passion for baseball and used to be an umpire and coach in baseball leagues, including the Hillsborough Little League.
Now he suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The disease affects more than 5 million people worldwide, and there is no known cure.
His son is determined to address that problem. One way is by running 1,000 miles from his home in Charleston, South Carolina, to the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s headquarters in New York in honor of his father.
Mr. Fox, the actor who started the foundation in 2000, has suffered from Parkinson’s Disease since 1991.
The journey has brought him home, arriving in Hillsborough at about 5 p.m. Tuesday to cheering family and neighbors at the end of the Flemming Drive cul-de-sac with blue and white balloons, signs and chalk on the pavement.
His journey ends tomorrow when he runs over the George Washington Bridge into New York City.
Along the way, the son said he has collected donations and stories, given dozens of interviews and hopes he has raised awareness for the disease.
Seven people in Mr. Mangini’s family, including his father, suffer or have suffered from Parkinson’s disease. According to Mr. Mangini, the threat of him falling ill to the disease is very real. He feels medical effects in his running and is under the care of a neurologist to monitor himself for the disease.
Mr. Mangini did not always want to run 1,000 miles for his father. In fact, the former Army sergeant hates running.
”The most running I ever did was when I was in the Army,” he said. “One day, my wife was shocked and congratulated me after I ran six minutes on the treadmill. I am quite a bit out of my element.”
In his journey, he said Tuesday, he runs six to seven hours a day, averaging about 25 to 30 miles a day. He’s lost about 25 pounds, he said.
His first venture into philanthropy was when he and his wife started their own business and decided to donate up to 50 percent of their profits to the charity of the buyer’s choosing for each order placed on their website.
However, Mr. Mangini wanted to do more to help his father and the Parkinson’s community.
”I wanted to start educating people on Parkinson’s,” he said.
Mr. Mangini began to educate himself on the disease so he could raise awareness. The statistics “floored” him, he said.
”I imagined what my father was going through, and then I imagined five million people like him having trouble doing simple things, like buttoning a shirt,” he said.
The progression of the disease varies from person to person, and it is frustrating to hear neurologists say there is not much they can do, his father said.
Parkinson’s affects more than those who suffer from the disease, his son said. It affects the entire family.
”My greatest fear is being a burden on the family,” the elder Mr. Mangini said.
According to Mr. Mangini Jr. and his wife, Kathie, there is a stigma attached to the disease.
”A lot of people try to hide it,” he said. “I tried to hide it when I was umpiring.”
His wife said, “It needs to be out in the public more. It is not really understood.”
Their son wanted to do something to raise public awareness and didn’t know quite how.
After all, he said, “I am just one person.”
One night, he woke up and thought he should run to raise awareness. At first, he brushed the idea off as crazy, but it festered in his mind, and soon he started to plan what would be become a 30-day, 1,000-mile journey from South Carolina to New York City.
Last Thursday, Mr. Mangini was a little more than 700 miles into his run. He said he was physically worn down, but he was not going to give up.
He jokes about a new hobby — “injury collector.” He has tendonitis in his left foot, a micro tear in one of his hip muscles, and one-third of the cartilage from one of his knees is gone.
That’s in addition to blisters and swollen feet and ankles, permanently swollen due to the amount of strain he has put on them.
With every step he takes, the pain in his feet makes his knees buckle, but that isn’t going to stop him. He only has to think of his dad.
The run is “such a victory for awareness,” he said. “People have told me the project has changed their lives.”
A couple of months ago, his father thought about giving up. Now he sees his son fighting not just for him, but for everyone suffering from the disease.
At the mention of his son’s name, Mr. Mangini smiles. His eyes seem to light up, and, even though he may try to hide it, he beams with pride.
”It’s surreal,” he said. “I know he is doing it, but it is hard to conceive. It is like a dream.”
Tomorrow, his son will complete his 1,000-mile marathon.
His effort will be over, but for his father and millions more, every day can be a struggle.

