The 2023 Stone Stairs of Death race is for a young boy with tremendous grit, determination and hunger for life. This year’s SSOD race is for Michael “Mikey” Boswell.
Earlier this year, Mikey’s father, Luke, noticed that Mikey wasn’t moving quite as nimbly as he usually does while playing baseball. He actually seemed to have a slight limp. His condition wasn’t improving. Mike was taken to see a doctor. The diagnosis was every parent’s nightmare. Mikey was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in March of this year.
Since being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Mikey has had surgery and chemo treatments. Three weeks ago he went through the worst one and now has 8 more treatments to go. Mid-December will be his last chemo treatment. Mentally, the chemo treatments have been very tough on Mikey. He’s a tough kid, though. He keeps pushing onward. Mikey’s a lot like his dad in that. You see, Luke is a strong, tough athlete, -a strong runner too.
I remember meeting Mikey’s dad, Luke, about ten years ago when I held a race on uninhabited/undeveloped/roadless Little Tybee Island called the Little Tybee Conquest. That race called on runners to run 13.5 miles of pristine, natural beach on Little Tybee Island. The course also called on runners to swim across fast moving channels of water that were approximately a half mile across. Most of the participants of this race were taxied over to Little Tybee on motorized boats for the race. Luke, on the other hand, kayaked to Little Tybee. He then ran and won the Little Tybee Conquest and, kayaked back to Tybee Island where he loaded his kayak on his truck and drove back home. Mikey, like his pop, is strong, tough and resilient. That, of course, only helps in his fight for life struggle with cancer.
Mikey is an avid athlete and baseball fanatic. He’s a big Braves fan. For this year’s SSOD race we will be channeling the tomawk war cry for Mikey in honor for Mikey’s love of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.
We have set up a gofundme account for the Boswell family that is goes in conjunction with the SSOD race. Every cent from the gofundme account will go to the Boswell family. The race registration will pay for the police service, permit, race shirt and awards with any remaining amount going to the Boswell family as well.
As we approach the SSOD race day, I have taken on a new personal challenge in support of the #Run4Mikey campaign. This personal challenge is for me to run up to 200 miles on the short (1/3 of a mile) SSOD course by November 19th. Since September 13th, I have so far run 27 miles on the SSOD course and will continue logging miles there until 11/19. If you would, please sponsor me by the mile or in a lump sum. I will also start off my own sponsorship by contributing $200 to the #Run4Mikey campaign. If you want to sponsor me (Dan Hernandez) please email me at [email protected] or make a donation directly to Mikey’s gofundme account and for a note write #2004Mikey.
For no fault of his own, young Michael “Mikey” Boswell was stricken with cancer and is literally fighting for his life. Cancer shows no mercy. It attacks its victim harshly. And if cancer doesn’t kill it’s victim it leaves him maim and/or in financial hardship. Cancer also launches a mental assault on the victim and on the family, taking them down dark corridors of despair with hardly a light of hope.
With the SSOD race, we, as in the running community, have been able to make very important and worthwhile contributions to folks and families that are fighting debilitating diseases. We are loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. We are standing the gap. We are making a difference. We are paying it forward. Please be a part of the SSOD run family as we run for health and, run4Mikey!
