Tyler Alt of Prairie Village says he isn’t running just for himself at the 2023 Boston Marathon next week.
He’s doing it to honor the late Olivia Bloomfield, an inclusivity advocate from Johnson County who died last year at age 10.
Alt, a longtime family friend of the Bloomfield family, is also raising funds for the Olivia Bloomfield Foundation to supply a child in need with a custom wheelchair.
Alt is currently less than $2,000 short of his $7,000 goal ahead of the race on Monday, April 17.
He wants to recognize Bloomfield’s contributions to society
- Alt noted there are many other runners in the Boston Marathon that raise money for good causes.
- He decided he didn’t want the race to be about him, but “wanted it to be about something much bigger.”
- “Olivia was such a light in our community and accomplished so much in her short time here, so much more than I probably ever will,” Alt said. “The few times I met her I was so impressed with her.”
Alt has a long-standing connection to the Bloomfields
- Sara Bloomfield, Olivia’s mother, told the Post that she and Alt grew up in the same small Kansas town.
- Alt’s wife, Meghan, was both Olivia and her sister Emily’s kindergarten teacher.
- “The fact that he wanted to do this and run in Olivia’s honor, I thought it was super special,” she said.
The money raised will buy one young girl a wheelchair
- The $7,000 Alt is raising is important because the girl’s family is struggling with accessibility, Bloomfield said.
- The girl recently had a stroke and can no longer use an electric wheelchair she could use six months ago, but insurance only pay for one wheelchair per year, Bloomfield said.
- The new wheelchair, she said, is a custom-built manual wheelchair with extra seating and cushioning to help support the girl.
Alt himself had to overcome a brain tumor
- Alt, who has been running seriously for six years, said he originally hoped to run a marathon in 2021 in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
- That hope was delayed after learning about a benign brain tumor, which had to be removed.
- Ultimately, he was able to run in the Garmin Olathe marathon last year, which allowed him to qualify for this year’s 127th running of the Boston Marathon.
- “I still get to run this year and I’m pretty excited,” Alt said.
How to donate
- As of Monday afternoon, Alt’s Boston Marathon fundraiser had raised $5,500, with a goal of $7,000.
- Go to this link if you’re interested in donating to Alt’s Boston Marathon fundraiser.
Go deeper: Olivia Bloomfield Foundation to carry on JoCo 10-year-old’s legacy of making a more inclusive world
