The Trifest for MS triathlon, the largest triathlon in Arkansas, draws people from all over the country to Bentonville to raise money for multiple sclerosis research.

The Rampy MS Research Foundation hosts the event and each year the race raises almost $100,000 towards multiple sclerosis research in Arkansas at UAMS, Northwestern University in Chicago and University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). Since 2012, the Trifest for MS and other foundation activities have raised close to $900,000.

“Most people don’t realize research doctors actually have to raise a lot of money themselves to fund their research,” race founder Scott Rampy told Fox 24 News. “So we would rather keep scientists in their lab coats studying the disease and figuring out how to cure it versus raising money for their research.”

His wife, Jo Rampy was diagnosed with the disease about 20 years ago. She said the organization is a good way to show other people living with the condition, that they’re not alone.

“This illness is progressive,” Jo Rampy said. “We can get lost in that progressiveness. But we don’t. We take our energy and our time, and we place it into a cause that can help others.”

*The events in 2025 will not be USA Triathlon Sanctioned due to the participant one day fee increasing to $21. Instead there is a $7 race insurance charge added during checkout.