💚 WHY WE RUN
Behind every superhero costume at Hope & Heroes Run is a real reason we show up. For some of us it's a personal record. For some it's a fun October morning with the family. And for many of us — it's for a child we love who fights a battle most people have never heard of.
That battle is PANS/PANDAS.
WHAT IS PANS/PANDAS?
PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) are conditions that cause children to experience sudden, dramatic neuropsychiatric changes — often overnight.
Imagine your child going to bed perfectly fine and waking up a completely different person. Sudden OCD. Debilitating anxiety. Uncontrollable tics. Rage. Personality shifts that leave families desperate, confused, and searching for answers.
Most families spend years — sometimes decades — being told it's behavioral. Being dismissed. Being misdiagnosed. All while watching their child suffer.
This is the reality of PANS/PANDAS.
THE NUMBERS
💚 An estimated 1 in 200 children are affected by PANS/PANDAS
💚 That's roughly 165,000 children right here in Washington State
💚 Most families never heard of it until it struck their own child
💚 October 9th is PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day — a day dedicated to shining a light on these children and families across the world
WHY WASHINGTON NEEDS THIS RUN
Hope & Heroes Run is Washington State's first ever PANS/PANDAS awareness run — and we chose our date with purpose.
October 9th is PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day. It is a day recognized around the world to shine a light on children and families fighting PANS and PANDAS. We run on October 11th — that same powerful weekend — because Washington deserves a moment to stand up and say out loud: we see these families. We hear them. We are showing up for them.
Before this event there was no dedicated run, no annual gathering, no public moment where Washington united for PANS/PANDAS families. That changes on October 11, 2026.
Every registration is a vote for awareness. Every step is a statement. Every costume is a declaration that this community refuses to let these children and families be invisible any longer.
WHO WE RUN FOR
We run for the child who woke up one morning and couldn't go to school anymore.
We run for the parent who spent years fighting for a diagnosis nobody believed.
We run for the sibling who watched their brother or sister disappear into an illness with no name.
We run for the doctor who is still learning.
We run for the family who just got the diagnosis and doesn't know what comes next.
We run for the child who is already fighting — and winning — every single day.
Every child fighting PANS/PANDAS is already a superhero. On October 11th — so are you.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
🏃 Run or walk — every step raises awareness
💚 Donate — 100% of donations go directly to the NW PANDAS/PANS Network
📢 Share this event — the most powerful thing you can do is tell one person who has never heard of PANS/PANDAS
Come for the capes. Stay for the cause. Run for the heroes. 🦸💚
