A Denton firefighter is taking a big run to help a little girl he’s never even met as she fights cancer.
On Tuesday, Chad Neely started his 100 mile run around Denton, taking his first strides at about 6:30 a.m., and expecting to hit his goal about the same time the next morning.
Neely was running about a 20 mile loop through the city five times, running for 20 minutes at a time, then taking 10 minute walks and only stopping completely for a few breaks to eat and refuel.
You can call it an ultra-marathon for a cause.
Neely has been collecting by-the-mile pledge donations for the run online, to raise money for a 4-year-old girl named Amelie, or Lulu for short.
Lulu was recently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that doctors are currently working to treat.
Though he’s never met Lulu personally, Neely said he served with her father Ben on military deployments in Iraq, and wanted to help his friend through the tough time.
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Others around Denton have also pitched in to help the cause including companies like Strittmatters Air Conditioning and Texas Road House, which posted online that they’d donate a portion of their sales to the run.
Elsewhere Tuesday, drivers passing Neely honked and hollered in support, his fellow firefighters posted up on the route to cheer him on, and Frenchy’s Lawn Service placed one of their trucks at road side to name Neely “Hero of the Day.”
As of publication, Neely’s efforts had raised close to $8,000 on the Run for Lulu website.
