He Ran 327 Laps Around the Washington Monument for His Brother - Washingtonian

"The “marathon” consisted of 327.5 laps around the Washington Monument's outer ring-roughly 0.08 miles per lap, a route Davis mapped out on Strava just days before. The run was in honor of his younger brother, Beck, who died by suicide on May 10, 2023. The two not only loved running together, but, as Davis describes it, were also “extremely competitive.” Beck, he jokes, was the kind of person who “would've gone out and done two marathons in one day.”"

"Coming up on the third anniversary of Beck's death, Davis wanted to find an unconventional way to both raise awareness around suicide loss and fundraise for the Beck Davis Survivors of Loss Foundation, which he and his mother started last November. At his mom's encouragement, he posted an open invitation online asking strangers to join him for the “Washington Monumentathon.” To his surprise, the video quickly took off. The only problem? Davis had moved to DC from Salt Lake City just three months earlier and barely knew anyone in the city."

"So Davis wasn't just nervous because he had barely trained for the marathon. He also assumed almost nobody would show up. “I was expecting like five to 10 people,” he says. Instead, when he arrived at the Monument at 7 AM, more than 20 strangers were waiting for him with signs, snacks, water, and encouragement. His mother also flew in from Utah for the event and, to his surprise, his best friends boarded a 2 AM bus from New York to run alongside him."

"Davis then spent the next four-and-a-half hours circling the monument with dozens of strangers who joined in to share stories about loved ones they had lost. At one point, even a park police officer on patrol stopped to run a lap with him. By the end, 10 people had completed the entire 26.2 miles alongside Davis, while others ran smaller portions before stepping of"

Max Davis completed the first “Washington Monumentathon,” running 327.5 laps around the Washington Monument’s outer ring. The route was about 0.08 miles per lap, totaling 26.2 miles. The event honored his brother Beck, who died by suicide on May 10, 2023, and was organized to raise awareness and fundraising for the Beck Davis Survivors of Loss Foundation. Davis posted an open invitation online and expected only a few participants. More than 20 strangers arrived with signs, snacks, water, and encouragement. Davis’s mother traveled from Utah, and friends came from New York. Dozens of participants shared stories during the four-and-a-half-hour run, and a park police officer joined for a lap. Ten people finished the full distance.

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