🚶‍♂️ I would walk 500 miles....

🎣 Catch and release. It sounds like a classic coming-of-age movie. Kids go fishing and end up hooking a wallet stuffed with cash. They go on a spending spree only to find out they’ve been spending the wrong guy’s cash. Hilarity ensues as they elude capture from the bad guy and his henchmen. As the credits roll, we learn the kids all eventually fell out of touch and went their separate ways. Depressing!

It’s not much of a movie plot if the kid simply returns the money, but that’s exactly what 14-year-old Connor Halsa did after hooking a wallet containing $2,000 in cash. He explored the contents - not for the money - but for contact information, finding a business card. A family member called that number, and the person on the other end knew the wallet’s owner was Iowa farmer Jim Denney. Another hole in our movie plot: Denney is no antagonist.

Denney recalls the wallet fell out of his pocket in rough waters on the lake a full year prior. Halsa not only insisted on returning the money - he refused any reward. “We didn’t work hard for the money, he did,” Halsa said.

Denney couldn’t accept that, visiting the Halsas, bringing Connor a customized cooler, and treating the family to dinner.

We’ll take this story over a coming-of-age tale every time.

👴 102 years old, 17 stories high. What did you get up to last week? Personally, I accomplished way less than a 102-year-old.

Colin Bell was a pilot in the RAF during WWII, flying dangerous bombing raids over Germany. That was a dicey undertaking, but some 80 years later, Bell hasn’t lost his appetite for challenges.

As part of a fundraising effort for the London Air Ambulance, the Royal College of Nursing Foundation, and the RAF Benevolent Foundation, Bell completed three days of walking to places of personal significance. On day one, he walked from Churchill College to the American Military Cemetery in Madingley to pay tribute to the American servicemen who lost their lives defending Britain. On day two, he walked to RAF Wyton, where he received training for the war. Finally, he walked to RAF Downham Market, which is where he flew from as a pilot.

Walking pretty much any distance at age 102 is a feat fit only for the bravest of souls, but those were the least daring of Bell’s achievements. Last week, as part of his fundraising efforts, he rappelled about 280 feet down the side of the Royal London hospital, home of the highest elevated helipad in Europe.

Move over Tom Cruise, Colin Bell does his own stunts too!

Asked if he was nervous, Bell replied, “No. I don’t frighten easily.” My man Colin flew in World War II. Think he’s nervous about shimmying down the side of a building? Not a chance.

The man is incredibly comfortable being airborne, and he used that comfort to his advantage to benefit dear causes. “I may be 102 years old, but I want to do my bit and raise money for these amazing charities.”

Dang, what’s our excuse? Gotta be like Colin Bell and do our bit! Spoiler: my bit is not abseiling down a skyscraper.

🏫 Be true to your school. Two weeks ago, we were amazed by Evie Herman’s stunningly impressive use of her Make-A-Wish, as she elected to be a pediatric oncologist for the day. Turns out, she’s not the only one making selfless wishes.

12-year-old Liam McCalmon was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma two years ago. Liam wanted Make-A-Wish to build a new school building for his school, which had recently outgrown its footprint, seeing students and faculty divided amongst the school and a nearby church. He wanted to see his classmates reunited under one roof.

Of course, that’s a hefty ask for even the miracle workers at Make-A-Wish, but they presented him an incredible alternative: they would furnish a new building. Now, Liam and family are on a quest to raise $1 million to make that building a reality.

Wishes are intended to give kids hope and renewed energy as they battle illness. Liam McCalmon is taking that hope and instilling it in an entire school community. He may face more treatment, but with his kind spirit and Agathos Classical School in his corner, we know he’s up for the fight.

🪩 Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name. You don’t need to have much in common with somebody to enjoy their company. Actually, all you need is the same name….as long as that name is Ryan and not Brian.

The “Ryan Rave” in downtown LA was a wholesome setting for inclusion and togetherness amongst approximately 550 Ryans. If people can come together over something so simple - and really arbitrary when you think about it - then there’s more hope for societal unity than we thought.

Ryan Fonseca of the Los Angeles Times wrote about the festivities. My favorite excerpt:

The Ryans found common ground in shared experience at Starbucks, where too often their coffees are announced with the dreaded “B” before their names.

“Venti cold brew for Brian!”

Ugh. It’s enough to make you want to abandon the drink altogether.

The group may eventually set its sights on the world record for the most same-named people at one gathering, held by 2,325 Ivans. A group of Kyles attempted the record this summer in Texas but ultimately came up short. If it’s any consolation, we’re pretty sure any large group of Kyles must have set the record for most pairs of Oakley sunglasses in one place.

🚶‍♂️ I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 18,519 more. On this day in 1983, George Meegan walked right up to the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. Those steps completed an unbroken walk from the southern tip of South America to the northernmost part of Alaska. It was a 19,019 mile journey lasting 2,426 days - almost seven years of this man’s life spent traversing a massive chunk of the globe on foot.

During that time, he got married, had two children, got significant press attention, visited President Jimmy Carter, and wore out more than 12 pairs of hiking boots.

I checked: The Proclaimers didn’t release I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) until 1988, so Meegan couldn’t even belt that tune along the way.

Dada da da! (Dada da da!)

Afterwards, he wrote a book about the experience and tried selling it to publishing houses to no avail. So in 2008, he self-published it; you think the opinion of some publishers is stopping a guy that walked across two continents? The book was later acquired and sold well globally.

👟 Put yourself in their shoes. You’ve trained for months. You’re properly fueled and hydrated. Your body feels strong. Nothing can stop you from hitting your marathon goals.

Except this.

You don’t have to be a shoe tech geek to know that the upper detaching from the midsole is NOT GOOD. That turns a Nike VaporFly into a Nike VaporCrashandBurn. But that’s the reality Jerry Manzano faced at the Mexico City Marathon.

While crowds are instrumental at marathons, it turns out they can offer more than encouragement.

Jesús Villanueva spotted the catastrophe and, without thinking, he offered up the shoe off his foot to Manzano. Despite it being two sizes too big, Manzano threw it on and not only finished the race, but qualified for Boston in the process, an impressive feat for recreational runners worldwide.

Eventually, Villanueva was reunited with his sneaker. His thoughtless act of kindness is a pure demonstration of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, especially when those shoes are completely busted.

🪮 A ‘fro for the ages. “It’s a great conversation starter.”

That’s what 14-year-old Amir Menendez says about his afro, which measures 7.74 inches tall and 9.77 inches wide. It’s the largest afro ever recorded on a man. Menendez, who’s been growing his hair since age 11.5, will literally never have to think of an icebreaker again as long as he lives.

“And then just tell us something interesting about yourself! Let’s start with you Amir.”

“I have the largest afro of any dude in world history.”

I PITY the person who has to follow Amir at freshman orientation. Probably just have to transfer at that point.

🚴‍♂️ A grand gesture on a grand tour. Something spectacular happened at this year’s Vuelta A España. 

To the casual viewer, professional cycling is an exceedingly confusing sport. First of all, it’s a team sport won by an individual. Teams typically ride Grand Tour events in support of predetermined team leaders. Teammates, referred to as “domestiques", set the pace for their team leader, riding in front of them to reduce wind resistance, helping them close the gap to “attacks” from the opposition, and basically aiding their quest in any way possible.

American Sepp Kuss is one of the most valuable domestiques in the world. For years, he’s reliably led team leaders through the most extreme mountain stages of the three Grand Tours. If you’ve watched any of the last two Tours de France, you’ve likely seen Kuss riding in front of two-time champion and teammate Jonas Vingegaard.

This month in Spain, as a result of some tremendous riding early on, Kuss found himself in the Vuelta’s red jersey, leading the tour into its late stages. While his team’s typical team leaders, Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, controversially left Kuss in the dust on multiple stages (much to the rage of the viewing public), he held his own…and held onto the jersey. Ultimately, Vingegaard and Roglic relented, riding in support of their loyal teammate for a change and showing some reciprocity for his relentless work on their behalf.

But this was no gift. Kuss earned the victory….and the support of his colleagues. He’s the first person to ride all three Grand Tours in one year and win one since 1957.

It’s a worthy reward for a modest, humble, gracious, and long-serving teammate who doesn’t seek the spotlight. No longer just a mere domestique, Sepp Kuss is now a Grand Tour champion.

🇪🇸🇲🇦 Hala Madrid. 14 year old Abdul Rahim Awhida lost his entire family in the tragic earthquake in Morocco. He gave a heartbreaking television interview outside the remains of his home wearing a white Real Madrid jersey, and the internet noticed, relentlessly tagging the club on social media.

Real Madrid has since offered to take Abdul under its wing, integrating him into the club’s academy to ensure he can continue his studies at no cost. Abdul’s father dreamed that he might become a doctor or a teacher, and now he’ll have the opportunity to continue pursuing that dream with the backing of one of the largest football clubs in the world.

The “it’s just a game” crowd is right. What happens on the field is just a game. But what happens off it is everything. Community, togetherness, support, unity. The very best of humanity. All inspired by sport.

🥅 Keep having fun with it. This was Matt Turner in 2013 at Fairfield University.

He was the number one play on SportsCenter’s Not Top 10, basically the biggest humiliation an athlete can suffer. It was enough to make him consider quitting the sport altogether. Fortunately, his love for the sport and relentless work ethic prevailed.

Ten years later, Turner is the number one keeper for the US National Team and a starter for English Premier League Club Nottingham Forest. But he hasn’t forgotten his tribulations, and he’s not too big to help those going through something similar.

College goalkeeper Grant Calvert wanted to quit the sport too. So he reached out to Turner. Matt’s advice? Simple.

“Do you love playing soccer?? Then just have fun with it!”

We can worry about what others think or dwell on our mistakes. Or….or…we can simply enjoy the thing we love doing and see where that takes us.