My Journey to Moab 240
Dedicated to Performance
"And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power there must also come—great responsibility!"
-Stan Lee
Over a decade as an endurance athlete spent adventuring globally and throughout the United States and my fondest memories are the faces I have met along the way, and the memories that we built together as a broader community. Most notably, I cherished my time as a team captain with WORLD TEAM SPORTS adventure race known as Adventure Team Challenge. In this circuit, I led a team of 5, including 2 adaptive athletes, through challenging Colorado terrain over the course of a weekend. During this time, we engaged in various mediums of endurance challenge as a team which inspired me to promote and support adaptive athletes and gave me an awareness of the importance of combating trauma with the support of a community. Please consider supporting this community in honor of all those who have undergone loss, trauma, and life changing challenges.
Rob’s Moab 240 Fundraiser for Determined2Heal and SPINALpedia
This October 9th, I will be participating in the Moab 240 Mile Endurance Race, one of the longest and most challenging endurance races in the world. I am dedicating my efforts to complete this race to the memory of Stone and Holt Weeks, and to Linton and Jan Weeks, dear friends and supporters of mine for as long as I can remember. In tandem with this dedication, I am asking for your consideration to support Stone and my dear friend, Josh Basile, and all of the amazing work he has done to combat trauma, disability, and to reengineer the future for so many with life challenging circumstances. Please consider any donation amount in honor of Stone and Holt, and for all those who struggle with disabilities, so that we all may have a brighter future.
-Rob Bouknight
Donations will help Determined2Heal:
Connect newly injured individuals and their families with experienced navigators and mentors.
Expand access to practical spinal cord injury information through SPINALpedia.
Help people navigate employment, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other essential benefits.
Create adaptive recreational opportunities that build confidence, friendships, and community.
Develop and expand programs such as AdapTee Golf, which enables people with high-level disabilities to participate in the game.
A spinal cord injury changes nearly every part of a person’s life, but no individual or family should have to navigate that journey alone. With access to information, technology, opportunities, and a strong community, people with spinal cord injuries can build powerful and meaningful lives.
Please support my Moab 240 journey by donating and sharing this campaign. Together, we can help Determined2Heal and SPINALpedia reach more individuals and families when they need this community most.
Our Story
This fundraiser is deeply personal to me.
Josh Basile and I grew up together as childhood friends alongside our mutual friend, Stone Weeks, who was one of my best friends. After Josh sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury in 2004, he dedicated himself to helping others facing similar injuries. Years later, our community experienced another unimaginable tragedy when Stone and his brother, Holt, passed away in a car accident.
Josh and I eventually reconnected through the shared experiences that shaped our lives and our mutual passion for helping others and making the world around us better. Although our paths have been different, we have both seen how tragedy can transform a life—and how purpose, friendship, and community can help create something meaningful from it.
Following his injury, Josh founded the Determined2Heal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and created SPINALpedia, an online community designed to empower people affected by spinal cord injuries with knowledge, mentorship, meaningful opportunities, and connection.
Today, SPINALpedia connects thousands of community members with more than 45,000 educational videos and real-life experiences. Determined2Heal also provides FREE newly injured mentoring, employment and benefits navigation, adaptive recreation, and innovative programs such as Adventurous Wheels and AdapTee Golf. Much of this work is led by people with spinal cord injuries who understand these challenges firsthand.
As I prepare to take on the Moab 240—an extraordinary 240-mile endurance race—I am raising at least $5,000 to support Josh, Determined2Heal, and the spinal cord injury community.
This race represents perseverance, community, and the ability to continue moving forward through difficult moments. Those same values are at the heart of Josh’s work. I am proud to dedicate this journey to an old friend who has spent more than two decades empowering others to build meaningful lives after spinal cord injuries.