Don Stevenson, Auburn’s ultra-marathon walker and man of sole, has stepped it up for Seattle Children’s in a show of gratitude for the work the hospital did in treating his 18-month-old great-grandson, Cash LaRance, who has beaten back kidney cancer.
The 83-year-old Pacin’ Parson is about to complete 400 miles to raise awareness and funds for the hospital by following local trails to the pace of 20 miles a day.
Stevenson and his supporters will celebrate the last mile of the walk in the Fireside Room at Grace Community Church, 1320 Auburn Way S., at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 14. Everyone is welcome,.
Stevenson last year completed a 600-mile local walk to raise awareness and funds for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and help the LaRance family cover medical expenses. The walk began in early September and finished around Thanksgiving.
“I felt it necessary to come out of retirement to walk a thousand miles for the little guy and cancer research,” said Stevenson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and retired pastor, teacher, truck driver and firefighter, who has supported many causes in the past 20 years with his long-distance benefit walks.
Stevenson has walked approximately 60,000 miles, completed 20,000 hours and taken 120 million steps – all for the good of others – since 1998.
Early last year, Stevenson completed a 13,000-mile walk to bring awareness and funds to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that has no cure. Money raised on the walk, which began last March and ended in June, supported the ALS Association. He dedicated the walk to Mark Alleman, a friend who was diagnosed with the disease.
Stevenson also has: covered 7,600 miles for Alzheimer’s; 20,000 miles for Multiple Sclerosis; 13,000 miles for Huntington’s disease; 2,400 miles for the American Cancer Society; climbed Mount Rainier for the American Lung Association; walked 730 miles for Spina Bifida; and 2,086 miles for blind and special-needs kids.
He made national news when he began a 3,000-mile journey from Auburn to the PHA headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., in 2015, just shy of his 80th birthday.
To donate to Stevenson’s walk to beat cancer, visit giveto.seattlechildrens.org/donate, or call (toll free) 866- 987-2000, or mail: MS S-200, P.O.Box 5371, Seattle, WA 98145-5005
