PHOENIX — What were you doing at age 11? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately since I met 11-year-old Zechariah Cartledge.
Cartledge is inspiring the country with his special tribute to fallen heroes.
Zechariah runs a mile for every first responder who loses their life in the line of service. Since January, he has run more than 300 miles.
“That faster I go, the faster the families and the friends of that fallen officer or firefighter will heal And that inspires me to keep going has hard as I can to the finish line,” Zechariah said.
Before every run, a tribute video goes out on his Facebook page, Running 4 Heroes, which has over 90,000 followers. He'll share the story of the fallen first responder that he’s running for.
After the run, Cartledge sends the families of the fallen first responders a note and thin blue line flag.
Zechariah’s mission is inspiring a nation, including his favorite football team, the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals heard about what Zechariah is doing for families, so they decided to do something for him, inviting him out for their game vs. the Steelers on Dec. 8.
Zechariah came out a day early to hang out at practice. There, he got to meet all of his favorite players including Kyler Murray, Chandler Jones, Larry Fitzgerald and Andy Isabella.
But by the end of the day, it was Zechariah who was signing autographs for Cardinals players and staff.
