“That’s My Hero.”
For 38 weeks, every single morning, Steve Garnett woke up at 3:30 a.m. He was preparing for the largest physical endeavor he’d ever taken on: the Ironman Lake Placid, a 140.6-mile triathlon of open water swimming (2.4 miles), cycling (112 miles) and running (26.2 miles) in one day. But the grueling training was no match for Steve’s personal motivation; he was using the race to raise funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research to honor his 10-year-old son Booth, an unstoppable pediatric cancer fighter. In Steve’s words, “that’s my hero.”
A Family’s Worst News
On November 4, 2021, Steve Garnett was on speakerphone four hours away from his wife, Claire, and then 6-year-old son, Booth.
Booth and Claire had taken an urgent trip to Boston to see specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital after noticing concerning symptoms. Steve, home in Connecticut with their daughter Lane, received the call no parent could ever prepare for: Booth was diagnosed with cancer, acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
On that dark day, Booth’s pediatric oncologist gave his family a glimmer of hope that they held onto for the next 1,236 days. “Dr. [Molly] Smith put her hands on Booth’s knees and said, ‘You’re going to live the life you were meant to live. It’s going to be a tough four years, but you will get through this. You will win!’ And wow, was she right,” said Steve.
Booth began treatment in Boston, away from home for nearly two months. During this time, friends of the Garnetts sent Booth encouraging videos from college athletes he admired.
“My wife said it was the first time Booth smiled since they’d been there. So then I went on an absolute tear, accessing my network. We ended up with several hundred videos of people delivering amazing messages and uplifting his spirits,” said Steve. “I decided I wanted to give back, but I didn’t know how yet. I personally was not handling things very well. I felt like I was reacting to life instead of attacking it.”
Booth was eventually transferred closer to home for treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in New York, and several years into treatment, Steve had the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon while raising funds for the hospital. He completed the marathon in November 2024, almost exactly three years since Booth’s diagnosis.
“When I crossed the finish line at the marathon, I almost fell on the ground because I was so emotional. I just couldn’t believe we were going through all this, and he wasn’t done with treatment yet.”
Choosing Hard
Steve and Claire saw firsthand how critical cancer research advancements were for children like Booth. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the current survival rate for children with ALL is approximately 90%, whereas the prognosis was only 60% several decades ago.
This progress, alongside Booth’s own journey, inspired Steve to continue making an impact. While training for the NYC Marathon, he was already looking toward his next big challenge – actively “choosing hard” – and modeling the same unbreakable spirit he’d seen in Booth. “Booth certainly didn’t choose cancer, but he did choose to battle every single day.”
In July 2024, Steve signed up for the Ironman Lake Placid, and soon after registered as a member of “Team V,” the V Foundation’s endurance sports program, to continue raising funds for cancer research while he trained.
“This is my way of giving back. I can’t write a big check, but I can tell a good story, I can connect with people, and I can encourage people to give. So that’s what I’ve decided to do until we have children with 100% survivability rates.” – Steve Garnett
On March 24, 2025, Booth rang the bell, celebrating the end of his cancer journey.
During that time, Steve’s fundraising page, ‘Battle Like Booth,’ raised nearly $10,000 in the first few days, and has since exceeded $34,000 for game-changing cancer research. Booth also supported the efforts, setting up a Gatorade stand with friends that raised more than $1,000.
Steve completed his Ironman on July 20, 2025, crossing the finish line hand-in-hand with Booth, now ten years old, cancer-free, and thriving.
“You just have to keep moving forward in life. When things are hard, choose to go harder. But focus on the process rather than the outcome. The outcome will be far greater than you ever imagined.”
A Long-Lasting Impact
A Long-Lasting ImpactAs Steve continues to fundraise and bring awareness to the urgency of pediatric cancer research, he hopes his own story can inspire others to make a difference in their own ways.
Whether it’s a neighborhood lemonade stand or training for a race, there’s no action or donation too small when it comes to lifesaving cancer research. For Steve, it’s become a lifelong commitment to honor Booth and the many other children and families who have heard the word ‘cancer.’
“Every year, for the rest of my life, I am going to choose to do something hard by committing to myself and committing to someone else who is embedded in the fight against pediatric cancer and donates 100% of the money they raise to that battle,” said Steve. “I’ve made this a part of my life now for every reason that the V Foundation exists.”
