It's been 12 years since Christopher Reeve passed away from a heart attack. A year and a half after that, his wife, Dana, died of lung cancer.
But the Reeve Family story doesn't end there. Christopher and Dana's lone son, Will, 24, is healthy and happy. In fact, he is in such good shape, he is going to run the New York City Marathon this Sunday, and raise a ton of money in the process.
Running in his first marathon, Will headlines "Team Reeve," a group of his friends, who will grind out the 26.2 miles through New York's five boroughs. Reeve's personal goal is to raise $35,000 for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization his parents created to support those with spinal-cord injuries and raise funds for medical research. Will is a board member.
"Everything I do, I try to honor my parents' legacy," he told the New York Post in an article published Tuesday. "I want to keep their names alive."
Will has been around activism almost his entire life. When Will was 3, Christopher was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident. As Will grew up, Christopher (who also had two children with previous partner Gae Exton) and Dana raised millions of dollars for the foundation, investing heavily in stem-cell research.
Will, now an ESPN reporter based in New York, was not into long-distance running until recently. He ran the San Diego Triathlon Challenge for the Challenged Athletes Foundation two weekends ago.
Honored to have participated in the San Diego Triathlon Challenge! Shout out to @ReeveWill who tackled 10 miles in support of @CAFoundation. pic.twitter.com/wuwPnsYPEg
— Reeve Foundation (@ReeveFoundation) October 23, 2016
"Finally I realized, 'What kind of example am I setting when many of the people in the spinal-injury world for whom I advocate would do anything just to be able to step up to the starting line?'" he said.
Will isn't Superman, but on Sunday, he will do his part contributing to the cause his parents championed. Afterwards, he'll go back into his standard Clark Kent role as a reporter.
"My folks instilled great values in me," he said. "One of the things they taught me from an early age is that when you're doing something, you'd better go all the way."
All the way will be 26.2 miles Sunday. Look out for Team Reeve in the pink, orange and yellow tops.
Huge thanks to @nypost for the writeup on my marathon efforts for @reevefoundation. Only 5 days away--can't wait. https://t.co/Ze8sLaZIV1
— Will Reeve (@ReeveWill) November 1, 2016
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