50 marathons in 50 weeks at 50 years old

Never underestimate the power of love.

“My cousin's daughter [Ella Bresee] was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 13, and she passed away 18 months later at the age of 15,” said Mike Downey.

While training for a run after turning 50 on Christmas last year, Downey had the idea to run 50 marathons in 50 weeks to raise money for pediatric brain cancer at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where Ella was treated. 

Ella was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in April 2021. She died Sept. 15, 2022. Her mom, Meghan Bresee, started Ella’s CureMe Fund on the website curemedullo.org with the hopes of raising money for research so a cure may someday be found for a woefully under-researched disease. 

Pediatric cancers as a whole receive little funding – just 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s budget is devoted to pediatric cancers.

“You get emotions, whatever, but then you can kind of decide what you're gonna do with those feelings,” Downey said. “I just chose to run, and then at the same time hopefully raise money for a good cause. I mean, if you look at the amount of treatment plans that are for pediatric patients, they're minimal, and they're using adult treatments. I’m hoping to bring an awareness to these children.”

Downey embarked on a nearly year-long journey almost immediately after turning 50. Most of his marathons have been completed in the Owings/North Beach, Md. area, but having met his wife Nanci in Rehoboth Beach several summers ago, Downey wanted to make sure he ended with the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.

The marathons became a marathon themselves, with Mike having to run a few double marathons and even completing two marathons with only one day of rest in between. However, he constantly reminded himself why he was doing it.

“She played basketball, she was happy-go-lucky; nothing could really bother her,” Downey said. “Even while she was sick ... she was like, ‘All I would tell people is to smile and push through,’ and you're looking at her, going, are you kidding me?”

With his motives in place, momentum was also picking up for the fundraising down the home stretch.

“About six weeks ago, we had a meeting with Children's Hospital, and they agreed to take all of the money that was donated and put it toward a clinical trial for medulloblastoma, which is the brain cancer that Ella had,” Downey said. “The money that we've raised so far will go solely to a clinical trial for children who unfortunately have the same cancer that Ella had.”

After wrapping up his 50th marathon, Mike hopes to generate more funds and awareness for medulloblastoma and other rare forms of pediatric cancer.

Knocking off the final few races made Mike dig down deep and remember what it was all for.

“One thing that I try to tell myself when it gets to be the mental side of the race is that I can still walk, I can still move, and I'm still alive,” Downey said. “Just push through, because there are kids, not just Ella, that don't have that opportunity.”

In perhaps a twist of fate, Mike wasn’t feeling too great Sept. 15, and he thought about not running – but then, Nanci reminded him Ella died two years ago on that day.

“These 50 marathons come out to be 1,310 miles, and I sit there and think, ‘OK, if I could give a child the opportunity to walk or live for 1,310 miles, then I’m doing something,’” Downey said.

As he crossed the finish line laid out near the Rehoboth Beach Running Company, he was overcome with emotion and quickly embraced his wife before hugging the rest of his support system and family. 

He quickly FaceTimed his cousin Meghan, who was in Memphis supporting her daughter Kendall as she ran in her first marathon – the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. Athleticism runs in the Bresee family, as Bryan Bresee is a defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints and starred at Clemson before he was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Along with spending unique time with her mom, dad, brother, sisters and her dog Fonzie, Ella loved watching Clemson football and supporting her brother. She was also a basketball player who stuck with the sport by watching her sister’s games, even when she could no longer play.

In her final year of life, Ella had brain surgery, 30 rounds of radiation to her entire brain and spine, and four months of aggressive chemo that destroyed her from the inside followed by oral chemo until relapse.

Donations in Ella’s name for clinical trials of treatments for medulloblastoma can be made at tinyurl.com/yvj6e4cc.