By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published July 27, 2022
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Bloomfield Hills-born Jason Boschan has run a marathon on every continent with “Run4Papa” written on his hand.
Boschan said the words written on his hand initially were there for motivational purposes, but it now also serves the purpose of branding for his cause.
Run4Papa is Boschan’s organization, which he started after his grandfather was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia in 2009.
Boschan’s papa, Dr. Louis Heyman, was a pediatrician from Bloomfield Hills in addition to being a beloved husband, father and grandfather. Heyman passed away at the age of 88 in 2013.
In 2012, Boschan became serious about running marathons to support dementia research in honor of his grandfather.
Initially, he thought this would be a year-long project, but 10 years later, the organization is still thriving, and he has completed the Everest Marathon on Mount Everest.
On May 29, Boschan embarked on his race from Everest Base Camp after about an 11-day hike. He finished the marathon in 10 hours, 41 minutes and 29 seconds.
Boschan was among the 146 people who ran the 2022 race and among the less than 2,000 people in the world who have ever run and completed this race. The race has been around for about 20 years.
Boschan’s goal was to raise $17,600, a nod to the 17,600-feet-above-sea-level elevation of Everest Base Camp. However, he far exceeded this goal by raising $22,315.
Overall, Boschan has raised over $330,000 in direct donations for Run4Papa. This money often goes towards funding for pilot trials, which are helpful for grant writers to provide evidence-based proposals.
Run4Papa raises money through a website and other means of exposure, such as media coverage, social media and YouTube videos.
Every dollar raised goes towards Northwestern University’s Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The funds for traveling and race expenses are provided by Boschan and are not covered by the donated money, giving people the peace of mind that their money is going towards research.
Each year, Boschan is involved in choosing the clinical trial that Run4Papa funds. These funds for the chosen clinical trial each year are put into action as soon as possible so that supporters can see their donations at work.
“I am a very big believer in that if I’m going to ask people to donate money, then that clinical trial has to be up and running by the end of the year or certainly at the very beginning of next year. There’s not a very long lag time,” Boschan said.
This year, the money went toward a communications bridge study that enables speech pathologists to go and conduct sessions with people around the world who are battling Alzheimer’s and other related dementia to help the patients and their families slow the progression of it.
More of Boschan’s time is dedicated to fundraising and helping fund clinical trials than actually prepping for the race itself. Boschan said he does not train for races and is able to show up and run.
He sees it as kind of his “superpower,” to have the ability to run difficult marathons without training. Fortunately, this gives Boschan more time to work on his organization and ways he can support Dementia research.
Boschan has also figured out a recovery routine that works for him, which involves an ice bath following the race.
“I have always thought that no matter how long or short the race is, it is really nothing compared to what people and families are battling every day with this disease,” Boschan said.
Boschan’s current endeavor is completing a half marathon in all 50 states. He is over halfway finished with his goal as he has completed races in 26 states and plans to reach 30 by the end of the year.
Boschan is joined by supporters of his cause in marking their hands with “Run4Papa” during races. Many times, supporters will also honor other loved ones during these races.
“There are a lot of things people can do, and even getting up to run a race of any distance can be a lot for someone, so if they are doing that and they are writing on their hands, you can just feel that type of important connection, and I really just appreciate every time I get an image like that,” Boschan said.
For more information, visit run4papa.com/jason.