Vermont PANDAS & PANS Awareness 5K Run/Walk

🏃‍♂️ Welcome to the Vermont PANS/PANDAS Awareness 5K

Welcome to the second annual PANS/PANDAS Awareness event in Vermont! Join us for a 5K fun run and walk along in Burlington on October 11, 2025 to raise awareness for PANS/PANDAS here in Vermont—an often-overlooked autoimmune disorder affecting children and young adults. We’re calling on our citizens of Vermont to join us in raising awareness and moving towards change and healing.

🎉 Description

• Family-friendly: This is a family-friendly run/walk in Burlington. Everyone is welcome: from regular runners ready to race to walkers looking for some good community fun.
• Activities: We'll have a DJ, snacks, cool t-shirts, medals for the kids, prizes, and some resources and experts to help us learn about this important condition facing our kids.
• Partnership: We are partnering with The Alex Manfull Fund, a New Hampshire-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, for our inaugural 5K event.
• Support: Net proceeds from our event will be given to NIPD in support of their clinic.

❓ What are PANS and PANDAS?

PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) occur when a child’s immune response to an infection causes inflammation in the brain. The inflammation can cause the sudden onset of behavioral, neurological, and personality changes. The effects of PANS/PANDAS on children and their families are devastating—yet these conditions are still relatively unknown in Vermont, making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult. Learn more about this condition and its symptoms.

📝 A Note from the Gaskell Family

Welcome to the PANDAS/PANS 5K! We are a family of 5 living in Burlington looking to transform the hardship of our own PANDAS journey into a beacon of hope and progress for others.

In September 2022, at age 8, our son experienced a sudden, acute onset of extreme neuropsychiatric symptoms. As his parents, we sought help from doctors, psychiatrists, and local resources but to no avail: his condition continued to spiral. Thanks to one of our son's former teachers, who witnessed our struggle and had read about PANDAS on Facebook, we got a first glimpse of what could be happening. In June 2023, a clinic at Dartmouth Hospital diagnosed our son with PANDAS. Since then, treatment and recovery have been long and arduous, however finally—now almost two years later—his condition has improved significantly. With a bit of blue sky returning for our family, we’ve emerged with a clear mission: to help others living with this devastating condition.

📅 Race Information

Join us on October 11, 2025, at the Burlington Surf Club, Burlington, VT. For more details and registration, visit Vermont PANDAS & PANS Awareness 5K.