Rick also enjoys crewing for other people as they attempt epic distances. Rick has crewed for Art Webb at The 135 mile extreme heat race in Death Valley, The Badwater Ultramarathon, as well as Ben Davis for 66 days as he crossed the entire 2,175 mile long Appalachian Trail spanning from Main to Georgia, and Martina Hausmann from Germany in a 1,000 mile race held in Athens, Greece.

Rick's goal in participating in Ultra Marathons and Crewing for others is to create a platform in order to raise funds and awareness for Tackle A.L.S., a very small non profit organization based out of Pennsylvania ran by his buddy Brett Snyder who is currently living with A.L.S.

It all started back in July of 2008 at The Tahoe Rim Trail 50 and 100 mile mountain foot race, one of the most difficult 100 mile foot races in the USA. This grueling 100 mile trek takes place at Lake Tahoe, on the border of California and Nevada. 2 Men who had never met... Ben Davis, traveled all the way from the D.C. area to run in the 100 mile race. Rick Cheever, drove 6 hours from central California to see his friend Jamil finish the 50 mile race, and to also pace a lady (whom he had never met) named Letha the last 50 miles of her 100 mile race.

In order to pace someone 50 miles through the middle of the night, you must sign a waver (of course). When Rick went to check in and sign the waver, he met a girl named Camila Jones who traveled with and was a good friend of Ben Davis. She ultimately would become the facilitator of the next days meeting between Ben and Rick. Camila and Rick instantly became friends as they began chatting about ultra distance running. Camila told Rick that she had a friend named Ben Davis running in the 100 mile race who would love to chat. Rick agreed to chat with Ben after the race was over, in the morning, at the breakfast/awards ceremony.

Both Rick and Ben were extremely tired from the epic race they had just participated in. Ben participating in the 100 mile race, and Rick pacing for 50 miles through the late afternoon, night and morning. Both gentlemen were coherent enough to exchange information and chat for a couple of minutes about some future ultra distance running plans. Ben had told Rick that he would be running the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail spanning from Main to Georgia. Rick was very impressed and interested indeed in what Ben was up to. The plans were to discuss Ben's epic adventure in a couple of days over e-mail, when the boys were both well rested and back to normal life...

A couple of days later Rick received an e-mail from Ben Davis with his plans to run the entire 2,175 mile Appalachian trail spanning from Georgia to Maine. Ben wanted to participate in this endeavor as a way to promote the disease A.L.S. aka Lou Gehrig's Disease. Not much light has been shed towards A.L.S. as it is a fairly new and uncommon disease. Ben needed help in the form of a crew person who would be willing to dedicate an entire fall to going the entire 2,175 miles with Ben in order to provide him with support, food and a place to sleep every night for 66 days while out on the epic trail. Rick quickly agreed to help Ben achieve his goal and booked a flight out east.

Rick had no idea for what he was in for. Ben's goal was to honor an executive chef named Bill Jackson, a co-worker he was very good friends with at a restaurant in Virginia who ultimately passed away from A.L.S. Ben also wanted to honor others and their friends and families who have had to deal with A.L.S. Ben and Rick were out on the Appalachian Trail for 66 days. Every day Ben and Rick were out on the trail, they dedicated to a different person with A.L.S. The 2 were also able to meet and visit with 3 very inspirational people who were currently dealing with the deadly disease. A professional website developer by the name of Ben Brunt, agreed to formulate a website, in order for Ben and Rick to post a new story highlighting a specific person (or HERO) with A.L.S. everyday for all 66 days out on the trail!!! Both Ben and Rick's Journey, as well as the website were a complete success. Ben and Rick were able to raise $20,000 for the A.L.S. Association and the 2 were able to make it safely across the very treacherous Appalachian Mountain range.

Now, Rick Cheever, Ben Davis, Ben Brunt, and Camila Jones are back at it again for what they like to refer to as... "ROUND 2"

A new website (www.ALIVEforALS.com this site will be launched on Feb. 26th) has been developed by Ben Brunt and Rick Cheever with the goal of sharing more inspirational stories of those dealing with A.L.S., raising funds for Tackle A.L.S. (www.TackleALS.org) and spotlighting a team "Team ALIVE" of ultra distance runners who will be dedicating each ultra distance running event they participate in to raising funds and awareness for A.L.S. aka Lou Gehrig's Disease and The Tackle A.L.S. Foundation! That's it... Our idea is pretty simple. We are not a non profit organization, we simply are a small group of individuals passionate about spreading the word on A.L.S. Every single penny donated to our cause will be handed over to "The Tackle A.L.S. Foundation" headed up by Brett Snyder, President of Tackle A.L.S. currently living with the disease. (www.tackleALS.org)

We are always accepting applications for new team members. The only requirements are that you are an ultra distance runner and that you are willing to spread the word on A.L.S. aka Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Everyday 15 Americans are told that they have A.L.S. and will only have 2-5 years to live. How would you handle such tragic information?

Please contact Rick Cheever for more information on any of these topics listed above at ALIVEforALS@yahoo.com