More than 400 people took part in a two-mile Breakthrough T1D walk at McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg on Sunday, Oct. 4, raising $166,000 for research and support for people living with type 1 diabetes. The walk began at 10 a.m. and drew more than 70 teams, with families and participants of all ages following a loop through the park. The event was organized in support of Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit focused on type 1 diabetes research. Alysha Basel, a Breakthrough staff member who has lived with type 1 diabetes for just over 25 years, said the gathering offered a sense of connection she lacked growing up in a rural community, where she was often the only person with the condition in her classes and grade levels. At the walk, Basel said, participants could hear diabetes devices sounding nearby and know they were among others who understood the experience. She described that shared recognition as a source of community. Basel said the Fitchburg event raised $166,000.