About 175 people came out in support of the Parkinson Society on Saturday to take part in the SuperWalk.

Organizer Edith Elliott was thrilled with the turnout and with the amount of money raised.

"I worked on the numbers and the total raised at the walk and online is $18,900. That number may go up as people can still donate online until Sept. 20," said Elliott.

Last year's walk raised $3,000 but online donations this year were already ahead of that before the Saturday morning walk.

In fact, one "super-star walker" - Ron Godard - personally raised more than $3,000, explained Elliott.

"The turnout was phenomenal. There were way more people than we expected, which is great. We ran out of T-shirts, which is also great," Elliott said.

"Pitt Meadows bent over backwards to help us out. They let us use this beautiful square and we are grateful for that," Elliott said.

Even Mayor Deb Walters and her husband Len donned blue SuperWalk shirts as they walked one of the three routes, which included 2.5 kilometres, 1.5 kilometres, or laps around Spirit Square.

Money from the SuperWalk goes to research, education, and programs organized by the Parkinson Society.

The Parkinson Society of B.C. facilitates two support groups in Maple Ridge. More than 11,000 people in B.C. are affected by Parkinson's disease - this number is 100,000 in Canada.

smclaren@mrtimes.com