I’m riding in the 2025 Courage Classic in honor of my nephew, who spent time in the NICU after birth. His strength—and the strength of his family through it—has deeply inspired me. This ride is my way of giving back and standing with the families who are walking similar paths today.
I’m also riding in support of kids like Forest, a patient at Children’s Hospital Colorado whose incredible story represents the courage and resilience of so many children this event supports.
Forest's parents, Gladys and Casey, knew they would be spending a few weeks at Children’s Colorado after his birth in 2016, far from their home in Montana. Forest was diagnosed with heart defects that would require open-heart surgery at just 7 days old. What they didn’t expect was a rare diagnosis of CHARGE syndrome, which at times caused him to stop breathing.
Forest spent the first six months of his life in the Cardiac ICU, and in 2019, his family moved to Colorado to be closer to the expert care at Children's Colorado. Since then, Courage Classic riders have honored Forest, and his father Casey began riding in 2020. At the 2024 Courage Classic, Casey crossed the finish line with seven-year-old Forest riding right behind him—a powerful moment made possible by the care teams at Children’s Colorado.
