The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2016 - Page 10
Charlotte Man Goes the Distance to “Run 4 Papa”
Jason Boschan Finishes Marathons on All Seven Continents in a Run Against Dementia
By Patrice Malloy
Watching his grandfather strug
gle with dementia was all the mo
tivation Jason Boschan needed to
begin an arduous journey to, not
only finish a marathon, but to run
a marathon on each of Earth’s
seven continents.
Boschan reached that mindbog-
gling milestone on March 12
when he the crossed the finish line
of the grueling Antarctica
Marathon, held on what is known
as the coldest, windiest, least in
habitable continent on Earth.
“It was extremely difficult to
see how my ‘Papa’ - a pediatri
cian who dedicated his life to
helping ease the concerns of anx
ious parents while taking care of
their sick children - begin to men
tally deteriorate over time,” said
Boschan. “The trials and tribula
tions to train for, and run a
marathon, are minuscule when
compared to watching a loved one
suffer from dementia.”
The experience initially moti
vated Boschan to run the 2010
New York City Marathon in honor
of his grandfather. It was during
that race Boschan’s “RundPapa”
fundraising concept was con
ceived and evolved into a journey
to “Run Against Dementia.”
Boschan partnered with North-
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western University’s Cognitive
Neurology and Alzheimer’s Dis
ease Center (CNADC) in 2010
with a goal to raise funds and
awareness to fight the vicious dis
ease. “My goal was to run races
all over the world in honor of my
‘Papa’ and everyone who is bat
tling or has lost loved ones to this
vicious disease,” he said. “More
than $175,000 has been raised,
and all contributions go directly to
fund dementia research.”
The Director of Marketing and
Communications for Moishe
House and currently living in
Charlotte, Boschan sees some cor
relation between his efforts and
the mission of the Moishe House.
“My global travels have helped
inspire both staff and Moishe
House residents - to think about
how they are engaging their com
munities and the opportunities and
places around the world they
might visit and make an impact in.
The ability to stand behind your
passion in life, like these young
adults are doing on a monthly
basis, is certainly a motivating
force.”
Boschan’s frozen seven-on-
seven finale was no walk in the
park. Held on King George Island
off the coast of the Antarctic
Peninsula, the Antarctica
marathon and accompanying half
marathon features brutally hilly,
muddy courses that transverse the
rudimentary gravel roads and con
nect the research bases of Chile,
China, and Russia. A sold-out
field of 183 participants hailing
from 22 countries participated this
year.
Race day saw a barrage of
volatile conditions and challenges
unique to running on what is
known as the Last Continent.
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Membership is an affordable $72 annually.
• • •
Hebrew Cemetery
of Greater Charlotte
'H'crw.ov- ' C.e.Le-trV-ci.te. ' ■ErAjtr-ci.ce.
Contact Sandra Goldman, Director,
for information on plot availability
and pricing.
director@hebrewcemetery.org
704.576.1859
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Antarctica
MofQfhon & Half-Marathon '•
Jason Boschan and his good friend Alex Turoff headed to the frozen tundra to
run the 2016 Antarctica Marathon. This was Jason S' 10th marathon and has
now run and finished 26.2 miles on all 7 continents.
Winds were mild at the start, tem
peratures hovering around 32 F
under mostly cloudy skies. How
ever conditions worsened mid
race with wind speed accelerating
to roughly 40 mph, dropping the
wind chill into low, single digit
temperatures.
Traveling to a marathon on
what is referred to as the “Last
Continent,” is a marathon in itself
Athletes traveled an average of
7,000 miles each to Buenos Aires,
southwestern part of the Atlantic
Ocean with the southeastern part
of the Pacific Ocean and has
earned a place in history as having
some of the roughest sea weather
in the world. The entire expedition
spanned 14 days.
Boschan also has run
marathons in South Africa, Rio de
Janeiro, the Australian Outback,
Boston, London, Chicago, and on
the Great Wall of China.
For more information on the
Antarctvca
Marathon & Hali-Matathon
Jason crosses the finish line.
Argentina before departing to
Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern
most city in the world. There they
boarded either the Akademik Ioffe
or Akademik Vavilov, Russian
ice-classed ships, for a two-day
crossing of the Drake Passage, a
body of water that connects the
Antarctica Marathon, please visit
www.antarcticamarathon.com.
For more information on the
Run4Papa and the Moishe House,
please visit www.run4papa.com
and www.moishehouse.org, re
spectively. ^
Success is sweet.