Kentucky father takes on 48-hour endurance challenge in memory of infant son

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A Kentucky father is pushing himself through a grueling 48-hour endurance challenge, all to honor the son he lost and help protect other children.

For Tyler Smith, the motivation comes from a phrase he carries with him every day.

“The motto I have is it’s day one or one day, and I chose day one,” Smith said.

His son, Ryker, was just 3 months old when he died in 2022.

“Ryker was three months old when he passed away,” Smith said. “He was the first boy in the family, so very, it’s super hard on my entire family.”

Smith said his family sent Ryker to daycare on July 27, 2022, but never got to bring him home.

Out of that heartbreak came a mission to help other parents make informed decisions about who cares for their children.

“We didn’t check off the right boxes and there wasn’t a structure out there that, hey, these are the things you need to look for when sending your child somewhere,” Smith said.

That mission led to Ryker’s Requests, a child care safety resource designed to help parents and guardians know what questions to ask when choosing care for their children.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says the initiative honors Smith by promoting child safety and giving families information and tools to help them make informed child care decisions. The state’s Ryker’s Requests page also provides resources for evaluating child care and directions for checking a provider’s status, capacity and inspection history through Kentucky’s Kynect system.

Now, Smith is using an endurance challenge to continue raising awareness and money.

His goal is to run four miles every four hours for 48 hours on November 6th, totaling 12 four-mile legs, or 48 miles.

For Smith, those miles are deeply personal.

“The main thing I think about is Ryker and the things that he won’t get to experience in his lifetime, and what he would be doing today if he were here,” he said. “I think about it almost every time I open my eyes up during the day, but on a run when it’s just myself and my mind is cleared, that’s the main thing that I think about.”

Each mile is another chance for Smith to remember his son while working toward a future where other families have more information when making child care decisions.

“It’s one of the hardest things that you can do as an endurance athlete,” Smith said. “So I just thought, you know, if I could put myself through a little bit of pain and raise a little bit of money, then I could help somebody along the way.”

Parents and guardians can learn more about child care safety, access Ryker’s Requests resources and find information about researching Kentucky child care providers on the state’s Ryker’s Requests website. [chfs.ky.gov]

To donate, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/48-miles-48-hours-supporting-grieving-families

Molly Demrow is committed to covering the stories that matter to you. If you have an idea, please reach out to Molly at molly.demrow@wlex.tv

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