Marine never leaves a man behind as he slows down to help struggling 9-year-old finish race
9-year-old Boden Fuchs thought he had what it took to finish the Jeff Drench Memorial 5K in Charlevoix, Michigan, but exhausted and out of breath, he soon found himself lagging behind all his friends.
Yet, instead of giving up hope, he asked a nearby Marine for some help: “Will you run with me?”
Lance Corporal Myles Kerr and Boden Fuchs. What a great story. pic.twitter.com/JGd2M7aBVS
— RunMichigan Foundation/RunMichigan.com (@runmichigan) August 2, 2013
One would expect a young Marine to have the endurance and stamina to finish a 5K race with effortless ease. After all, being in peak physical condition is part of a soldier’s training.
They live and breathe toughness through endless weeks of intensive boot camp!
But a 4th-grade kid? They don’t have access to such luxuries.
Still, Boden wasn’t about to let himself be defeated.
He entered this race for a reason, and whether it was because his eye was on the prize or he just wanted to push himself past his comfort zone, this was his chance to prove that he could do it.
When he saw 19-year-old Lance Corporal Myles Kerr start to run past him, wearing combat boots and a rucksack on his back no less, it was a clear sign that he was on the right path.
He had the perfect support team jogging right alongside him!
While some people hate asking others for help, Boden knew a good thing when he saw it. And Lcpl Kerr knew a motivated kid when he saw one, too!
They were an obvious match for this special moment.
There was only one option here, and it had everything to do with a motto that all Marines live by: “Until they are home, no man left behind.”
Taking that to heart, Lcpl Kerr slowed down his pace and purposely lost the race in order to help this kid finish.
While he was busy actually living the motto and inspiring Boden to push past his self-perceived limits, his teammates wondered where he had run off to!
SEAL of Honor gave a debrief on Facebook to explain what happened that day.
“Several minutes after the other Marines he was with had finished, Lcpl Kerr still had not crossed the line. They feared his extreme level of motivation may have caused him injury and/or fatigue resulting in him dropping out of the race.”
The story captured the hearts of millions and immediately went viral. Although it actually happened in 2013, something good came out of it.
Thanks to a special Marine that gave him a much-needed assist back in the day, we can see that Boden has now grown up to become a winner in other areas of his life as well.
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The big takeaway here is that mindset is everything – sometimes, when you think you’re losing the race, you’re actually crushing it on a whole different level.
Watch the video below to learn more about this heartwarming story.
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Source: ABC News, SEAL of Honor