I ride to give hope to Children's Hospital Colorado patients like Samuel.

Samuel is an inquisitive, creative, vivacious 9 year old boy. He and his twin brother, Oliver, were born with patent ductus arteriosa, a persistent pathway for some blood to recirculate through the heart rather than to the body. In April of 2017, Samuel had his PDA repaired through a catheter based procedure at Children’s Hospital. Samuel now has a healthy cardiopulmonary system and has no restrictions. He’s enjoyed an intensive bike camp (riding up to 30 miles in a day) and is an avid rock climber (and can complete a 5-10+ indoor climb). He loves to ride on his hoverboard and play laser tag. Samuel is adventurous and enjoys vertical drop water slides, zip lines, parasailing and white water rafting. Samuel recently enjoyed an adventure swimming with dolphins. He also skied his first black diamond this winter! Samuel loves to build complex structures out of lots of different materials, including bungee cords, blocks, hot glue and wire. Samuel loves to experiment with the properties of fire. Samuel is an incredible persuasive speaker (a challenge for family disputes!) and is an avid listener of audiobooks and science podcasts. His life long dream is to solve the problem of aging by addressing telomere shortening in humans. He is a very creative problem solver, has a masterful command of language and is quick to come up with witty puns. We are grateful to Children’s Hospital, and in particular to Dr. Darst, for the way he shepherded us through this process. 

The Courage Classic is not only a personal challenge, but also an opportunity to support positive outcomes and healthier futures for children.