32 | JULY 7 • 2022 

J

ason Boschan has gone 
to great lengths in his 
Run4Papa campaign.
Now it can be said he’s also 
gone to great heights.
Boschan, a former 
Bloomfield Hills resident 
who has run marathons 
and half-marathons around 
the world since 2012 not to 
compete but to raise money 
for research and awareness 
for Alzheimer’s Disease and 
related dementia in honor of 
his late grandfather, ran in the 
Everest Marathon on Mount 
Everest on May 29.
The Everest Marathon is 
the world’s highest marathon. 
Boschan became one of fewer 
than than 2,000 people who 
have completed the marathon 
in its 20-year history.
“Everybody has their own 
Mount Everest they were put 
on this Earth to climb. Mine 
is running to find a cure for 
dementia,” said Boschan, 43, 
who lives in Charlotte, N.C.
Boschan’s fundraising goal 
for the Everest Marathon was 
$17,600, an homage to the 
17,600-feet-above-sea-level 

elevation of the Everest Base 
Camp, where the marathon 
begins.
He’s surpassed the goal. 
The total was $22,315 as of 
last week with donations still 
being accepted at Run4Papa.
com.
Boschan has raised more 
than $330,000 since he began 
Run4Papa in 2012.
All of his runs are 
self-funded, with dona-
tions going entirely to 
Northwestern University’s 
Mesulam Center for Cognitive 
Neurology and Alzheimer’s 
Disease.
Boschan said just getting 
to the Everest Base Camp in 
Nepal was a challenge. He and 
his group needed to hike for 
11 days, averaging five-plus 
hours a day, to get there.
After spending two days 
and two freezing cold nights 
at the Everest Base Camp to 
get acclimated to the altitude, 
the marathon runners in 
Boschan’s group took off.
The finish line for the 
marathon was about 6,000 
feet below the start, but the 

challenging, harrowing course 
went up about 12,000 feet and 
down about 6,000 feet.
Boschan finished the mara-
thon in 10 hours, 41 minutes 
and 29 seconds.
“Hiking and running on 
this trip was unlike anything 
I’ve ever done,” Boschan said. 
“You look down a lot. There’s 
a lot of rocks and no railings. 
I’m so glad I did this, but I 
will never do it again.”
Even traveling to and from 
Nepal was a challenge for 
Boschan.
He left May 12 and 
returned home June 3. During 
that time, he spent a total of 
54 hours either flying or wait-
ing to fly.
This was his 13th mara-
thon, including two before he 
started Run4Papa.
He’s one of about 1,000 peo-
ple across the world who has 
run a marathon on all seven 
continents and run in all six 
major marathons — Boston, 
London, Chicago, New York, 
Berlin and Tokyo.
He had to stop at mile 25.8 
of the 2013 Boston Marathon 

because of bombings at the 
finish line of the 26.2-mile 
race, and he returned to 
Boston to run a complete race 
in 2014.
He ascended and descend-
ed 5,164 steps in the Great 
Wall of China Marathon in 
2012 and ran in below-freez-
ing temperatures in the 
Antarctica Marathon in 2016.
While he doesn’t have 
another marathon in his 
future, Boschan plans to 
continue pursuing his goal of 
running a half-marathon in 
all 50 states. He’s done 26 so 
far and hopes to reach 30 by 
the end of the year.
Amazingly, Boschan doesn’t 
train for races. He was able 
to pass on-site medical tests 
with flying colors during his 
Mount Everest adventure.
“I just show up and run,” he 
said. “I’m mentally tough on 
race day because I’m so moti-
vated.”
His motivation is pedia-
trician Dr. Louis Heyman 
of Bloomfield Hills, his late 
grandfather, whom he called 
Papa. Heyman died in 2013 at 

SPORTS

JASON BOSCHAN

Former Bloomfield Hills resident Jason Boschan 
tackles Mount Everest in his continuing quest to 
raise money for dementia research.

Marathon Man

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After six days of hiking toward 
the Everest Base Camp, Jason 
Boschan and his group finally 
saw Mount Everest.

Jason Boschan and his 
group spent two days 
and two nights at the 
Everest Base Camp, 
getting acclimated to 
living at 17,600 feet 
above sea level..

