A 9-Year-Old Fell Behind in a 5K and Asked a Stranger in Army Boots for Help. The Marine’s Answer Went Viral

It was a summer Saturday in Charlevoix, a small town on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Runners of all ages had come out for the Jeff Drenth Memorial 5K. Some were serious runners. Some were families. Some were just there to have fun.

And one of them was wearing combat boots.

Myles Kerr was 19 years old and had been a Marine for nine months. He was home on a short leave from Camp Pendleton in California, and he decided to run the race the Marine way: in his boots, his camouflage trousers and a pack on his back.

Somewhere along the course, he passed a little boy in a blue T-shirt.

The boy was walking. He was tired, and he had lost the group he started with.

“Hey, little guy, you alright?” Myles asked.

The boy looked up at him and said: “Will you run with me?”

His name was Boden Fuchs, and he was nine years old.

Myles did not have to think about it. He slowed down and stayed right next to Boden for the rest of the race. Whenever the boy started to fade, the young Marine kept talking to him, encouraging him to keep going, one step at a time.

Near the end, someone in the crowd took a photo. In it, Boden is running in front, and Myles is right behind him in his heavy boots, turning to look at the boy as if to say, “You’ve got this.”

They crossed the finish line together, just under 35 minutes.

Myles did not walk off to celebrate. First, he made sure Boden found his family. Then he went on with his day and did not think much more about it.

That night, a friend posted the picture online. Then his recruiter shared it. Within days, hundreds of thousands of people around the world had liked and shared it.

TV stations called. Newspapers wrote about “the Marine who ran with the little boy.” Boden’s family even gave Myles a restaurant gift card to say thank you.

But Myles did not like being called a hero.

“As a Marine, we try to reach out and help as much as we can,” he said. “I don’t think I’m a hero. I was just trying to help.”

Has a stranger ever helped you when you were ready to give up? Tell us in the comments.