SILVERHILL, Ala. -- Michael Parnell loves racing.

The 14-year-old son of Silverhill resident Tia Parnell, now an eighth grader at Central Baldwin Middle School, was turned on to the sport by his principal Chuck Anderson when he was a seventh grader at the school.

He competed in several track events for the school and over the summer began competing in 5K races. In his last race, Oct. 19, he finished in a time of 23:01, third overall. On Sunday, he plans to participate in the Scott Ward Memorial Fit for Duty 5K at the YMCA in Daphne.

“If it were up to him, he would be out there every day,” said his mother, “but we have to be careful how much he pushes himself.”

You see, Michael is not your typical racer.

At age 10, he was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos-Syndrome and a rare condition called Dysautonomia. As a result, he has problems with his joints and suffers from a malfunction of his nervous system, which leaves Michael, for the most part, confined to a wheelchair.

In May, he was presented with a racing wheelchair from an organization called Challenged Athlete Funds. Sunday will be his sixth race since getting his new set of wheels.

When interviewed for an article back in May, the young student athlete said he wanted to use his new-found freedom as a way to help others.

And he has done just that. His last race in October was a benefit for the American Cancer Society, raising funds for Central Baldwin Relay for Life, which will be held Friday, Nov. 22 on the track at Robertsdale High School.

In June, he participated in the Carlin’s Courage 5K in Bay Minette, benefitting the Carlin’s Courage Foundation.

It was there that he met Carlin Davis, who was a sixth grader at St. Patrick School in Robertsdale when she was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, and her parents, Alice and William Davis of Bay Minette.

In September, just over a year after being diagnosed, Carlin lost her battle with the disease.

It was also there that he came across and idea of how he could combine his love of racing and helping the community, raising money through the “Miles by Michael for Carlin Courage Foundation.”

“We heard several of the older runners talking and they were planning on doing something similar,” said Tia Parnell. “One of the runners said he was going to do his in October, so we said we would do one in November.”

Starting Nov. 9 and continuing over the next month, through Dec. 9, Michael will be logging miles in his racing wheelchair.

Anyone wishing to participate can pledge an amount per mile or simply give a donation.

The 5K race, which translates to 3.2 miles, will be added to his total, but mostly he will be logging miles around Silverhill.

“We don’t have any fancy gadgets to log miles with,” Tia Parnell said. “We’re just doing the best we can to keep up with it on our own.”

Four days into his quest, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, Michael had logged seven miles and had planned to log a few more miles around his home that day, he said.

“It just feels good to give back to the community,” he said. “Seeing the smiles on people’s faces and knowing that I’ve done what I could to help.”

Michael and his mother have a Facebook Page, “Miles by Michael for Carlin Courage Foundation,” set up for information on how you can donate. You can also donate directly on the Carlin’s Courage Foundation website, www.carlinscourage.com.

“We’re just asking people to make sure if they donate directly to the Carlin’s Courage site, they email them and let them know it’s for the Miles by Michael campaign and they will keep track of what is raised for us,” Tia Parnell said. “We will also be keeping track of what we raise on this end.”

Michael’s goal is to raise $350 for the Carlin’s Courage Foundation.

“But we hope it’s a lot more,” Tia Parnell said. “We just want to be able to raise awareness and help other families like ours and Carlin’s.”

And Michael’s charity work doesn’t end there. In 2011, Michael and his mother created a charity called Project Soles 4U, collecting new and gently used shoes of all sizes, distributing them to individuals and groups in need, both here in America and as far away as Haiti.

So far, they have collected more than 1,500 pairs of shoes, Tia Parnell said.