Standing Up to POTS Walk/Run Set for Nov. 1, 2025

Wittenberg Professor Cathy Pederson, Elizabeth "Betty" E. Powelson Endowed Chair in Biology, and her family know firsthand what it's like to live with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS, as her daughter, Lily, a 2024 Wittenberg graduate, has suffered with it since age 10. A disorder of the autonomic nervous system, POTS affects heart rate, blood vessel dilation, blood pooling, movement of food through the digestive system, and body temperature, Pederson notes on her Standing Up to Pots website.

"I feel like I am uniquely positioned to advocate for the chronic invisible illness community as a college professor who teaches many courses for pre-health students," Pederson said. "My research shifted to chronic invisible illness around 2014, shortly after my Lily became ill. As a result of that work, I have been interviewed for several short spots for local news stations and NPR. This work and my passion for helping this community spills into my classes, where I talk about POTS and a variety of other little-known chronic illnesses and have developed an Honors course called 'Chronic Illness and the Healthcare System' because of my daughter's illness."

After Lily's diagnosis, Pederson also established Standing Up to POTS, a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for people with POTS through research, advocacy, and support. The organization also sponsors an annual run/walk with this Saturday, which is now in its 12th year.

"Standing Up to POTS is so proud to have faculty, staff, and students at Wittenberg participate in this event every year," said Pederson, who has published more than 20 papers on POTS/chronic illness and quality of life issues in the past couple of years.

Currently, there are 212 signed up for the virtual version, along with 93 participants pre-registered for the in-person event, which will begin at 11 a.m. in front of the Benham-Pence Student Center on the campus of Wittenberg University. The day includes both a 5K and a 2K event running simultaneously, along with the recording of an episode of the Standing Up to POTS podcast called The POTScast, in which participants who are currently living with POTS will be interviewed. The POTScast can be found on all major podcast platforms, as well as on the Standing Up for POTS website: https://www.standinguptopots.org/podcast

Wittenberg's event remains the biggest and most important fundraiser for the Standing Up to POTS organization. Together, Standing Up to POTS has awarded more than $664,000 in grant money to numerous POTS research teams in six countries.

Pederson is hoping to exceed $20,000 net for this year's event. Registration begins at 10 a.m. followed by the race at 11 a.m., both along Alumni Way and in front of the Student Center. All are welcome on Saturday to walk or run. For more information, go to: https://www.standinguptopots.org/annual-5k. Donations are also accepted and are tax-deductible.