50' Closer to a Cure

January 20, 2013

A few weeks ago I was on FB and I friend of mine (that I havent seen since the 8th grade) posted about a charity strongman competition that he was going to be attending. Well, Hubs and I have attended strongman before, and we are always looking for something fun and different to do on the weekends... so we decided to go. As a plus, I was going to get to see two people that I havent seen in a really long time AND it was going to be a charity event so we were going to be able to contribute to a good cause as well.

After committing to the event I was obviously interested in seeing what the charity was all about and who was putting it on. I was so very excited for what I found! I had heard in the news before Christmas about the 9-year-old boy from Salyersville, KY named Dalton with stage 4 Cystic Fibrosis. There was nothing more the doctors could do for him, so they sent him home with a few weeks to live. What you may have heard on the news was his dream to break the Guiness World Record for receiving the most holiday cards. This organization 50' Closer to a Cure and its founder Justin Sulham worked so hard and ran event after event to get as many cards as possible sent to Dalton as well as raise money for him and his family. Through their facebook fan page you can see the connection and impact of Dalton's story on Justin as well as the rest of the strongman community. Justin visited Dalton and made his day by pulling a fire truck right in front of his home. Such passion for a strong little boy and honorary strongman is an amazing thing to see and hear about. Justin spoke of Dalton and his passing last weekend at the event today, and emotion filled all of faces of these strongmen who have been touched by him. It was enough to take your breath away.

I was trying to think of how to talk about 50' for a Cure and I dont really think I have to say much more than I already have to stress what a class act these guys are. Their blog states the following under who we are and what we do:

So, who we are. We are 50' Closer to a Cure (Facebook.com/50feetcloser). I cannot call us a non profit because we are not a registered 501c3 organization. I cannot call us a charity because all we do is support other charities in need. What I will call us, the team at 50' Closer, is I will call us a vehicle. We are a mobile voice of hope, we deliver inspiration to those who need inspiration. We are a vehicle for positivity, light in the darkness. Our core values are set in stone, above all the key core value being community. Bring a community together as one and you have succeeded in making the world a better place for tomorrow.
What we do. We pull trucks, fire trucks, monster trucks, military assault vehicles, even airplanes. We pull them using a rope, a harness, our bare hands and the will and energy we receive from the crowd. We also lift up cars, yes you read correctly we individually lift cars off of the ground. There are other events within our BIG events, such as ripping phone books in half, rolling up frying pans, bending steel. We accomplish feats of strength for the crowds, we give the children stories to tell. We see to it that we are positive role models for the youth, in a world where athletes are being removed from their sports and having titles stripped due to substance abuse it's important for the kids to know there are still athletes who accomplish their goals within their chosen sport without the use of performance enhancement, that we train hard, honestly, with a strong moral fiber. -http://50feetcloser.blogspot.com

 So... having said all that, I was MORE than excited to see these guys in action and contribute to a great organization that I so strongly stand behind. Todays event was held at APECS in Medway, MA and was to benefit Belle, a 3 year old diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukimia just before the holidays in 2012. What was really amazing was Bells mom Melissa was there competing with all the other athletes in honor of her daughter! They teamed up with Medway Nutrition and according to their FB page they raised $2,100, enough for 42 home leukimia treatment copay's!!

The event was really well ran and I am hoping to be able to attend  more events to benefit 50' Closer to a Cure in the future. All of the athletes did a stand up job. Its amazing how similar the CrossFit community and the Strongman community looked to me today.

Check out their facebook page and LIKE them!! You wont be sorry!! www.facebook.com/50feetcloser.

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