On April 14^th I will be running the Potawatomi 50 Mile Ultra Marathon in Pekin, IL. This will be by far be the hardest challenge I have taken on yet. This past December I learned about a little girl from my hometown of Auburn that was taking on a bigger challenge than I ever will. I saw a sign at my gym about a little girl named June Peden-Stade that was battling cancer. When I looked into her story I learned that for most of her life, she spent time in hospitals being treated for Stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive type of kidney cancer usually found in children under the age of 5. As I looked at the pictures of June I was instantly inspired by her smile in every picture. I thought how courageous she must be to smile so much during such a hard fight.

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet June as she passed away on December 22, 2022 at just 3 years old. Had I been given the chance to meet her I would have told how inspired I was by her. I was thinking on a run recently, even though I can’t meet June I can certainly do something to honor her memory. I decided to reach out to a friend of her family and see if I could dedicate my race to June. Once the family agreed that I could, I asked if there was a charity they would suggest I could raise money for. They suggested Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand’s mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

So, on April 14^th I’ll be running 50 hilly miles for June. I’d also like to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand in her honor was well. If you’d like to donate, please click the donate button above.

Thanks,

Noah