Man Runs 100 Miles for 100 Children Fighting Cancer

On June 21 and 22, 46-year-old “Tattoo Tom” Mitchell, a novice runner from Springfield, completed a 100-mile ultra-marathon at Mohican State Park in Ohio.

Mitchell and his running partner, Adam Katkhouda, had 32 hours to complete four 25-mile loops. While Katkhouda dropped out of the race at mile 77, Mitchell completed the race in 31 hours and 30 minutes, WJLA reports in a full-length documentary of the event.

Among those rooting for Mitchell and Katkhouda were Leesburg’s Ellyn and Mark Miller. Their daughter, Gabriella Miller, was an outspoken advocate for pediatric research funding before she died at age 10 from an inoperable brain tumor.

Five years ago, Michell’s daughter, Shayla, contracted Hodgkin’s disease and fought for two years before she died of cancer at 18.

The death of Mitchell’s daughter led him to create the Stillbrave Childhood Cancer Foundation to help struggling families of children with cancer by paying for non-medical needs like gas cards and groceries.