Run4Papa, so named because Jason Boschan called his grandfather Papa, raises money for Alzheimer’s disease research.
Jason Boschan has been traveling around the globe since 2012 running marathons and half-marathons to raise money to fight an insidious disease.
Another insidious disease has brought a temporary halt to Boschan’s fundraising efforts.
Boschan, 41, a former Bloomfield Hills resident who lives in Charlotte, N.C., runs in honor of his grandfather, the late Dr. Louis Heyman of Bloomfield Hills, who died in 2013 at age 88 from dementia.
Run4Papa, so named because Boschan called his grandfather Papa, raises money for Alzheimer’s disease research. Boschan self-funds his trips to races and has raised nearly $250,000.
Boschan was planning to run the Mt. Everest Marathon on May 29.
He said he backed out of the race because he didn’t want to raise money when the world is in turmoil because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so many people are worried about their health and livelihoods.
“I didn’t want to jeopardize all the good will I’ve created,” he said.
The Mt. Everest Marathon was rescheduled for Sept. 24, but Boschan doesn’t plan on running it until next year (May 29, 2021.) Boschan’s quest to run a half-marathon in all 50 states is stalled at 24 races. He did his last three half-marathons in a two-weekend blitz: Feb. 16 in Birmingham, Ala., Feb. 29 in Jackson, Miss., and March 1 in Little Rock, Ark.
“My goal was to get to 30 half-marathons by the end of this year, but, to be honest, I think I’ll be stuck at 24,” he said.
Half-marathon No. 25 was supposed to be the Eugene (Ore.) Half-Marathon on April 26. The race was canceled.
Boschan didn’t have any half-marathons planned after Eugene because he wanted to take a break after the Mt. Everest Marathon.
“I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to follow through with my running plans this year, but you have to look at the big picture of what’s going on in the world,” Boschan said.
“Plus, races are normally held every year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to run next year in the races I missed this year.”
Boschan is one of about 1,000 people who has run a marathon on all seven continents and run in all six major marathons — Boston, London, Chicago, New York, Berlin and Tokyo.
A Bloomfield Hills Andover High School (1997) and University of Michigan (2002) graduate, Boschan does marketing work for orthopedic surgeons.
