Capps started running the Mountains-to-Sea Trail on April 2, beginning on the coast in Kill Devil Hills, and plans to reach Clingmans Dome by May 24. He hopes his run will raise substantial funds toward a cure for multiple myeloma through the organization he founded, Throwing Bones for a Cure, Inc. Capps also wants his organization to encourage patients to stay active after a diagnosis and to assist patients and their families with short-term financial and logistical needs. 

Self-described as a runner of average ability, Capps, 46, is a father of three and was diagnosed in January 2015, forced to stop running later that year due to a large bone lesion in his left hip. He underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and infusions, as well as a bone marrow transplant, but did not achieve remission. That’s when Capps went to his wife and proposed running 1,175 miles across the state. He trained throughout 2017 and recruited others to join him for a day or week during his cross-state run. 

“My goal is to show people battling this or any chronic disease that you have two choices; you can lay down and die or you can throw those bones and let them ride. I’m rolling,” Capps said. 

He hopes to raise $117,500 during his run, or $100 per mile. He will run each mile in the name of someone who is battling or who has lost their life to the disease, which affects 30,000 new people each year. 

Donate or find the running calendar at www.throwingbonesrun.org.