He has never lost. Many have stepped up, looked him in the eye and thrown down the gauntlet only to suffer defeat at his hands. A few have even dared to bring trash talk, “My 10-year old nephew has more than you’ll ever have, LaRue,” or “You’re goin’ down this year, LaRue!” or “Let’s see what you got when it counts, Laddie!” But, through all their self-puffery and bluster, through all the years and all the miles, no one’s ever even come close to beating him. When LaRue Davis puts on his game face, the contest is pretty much over.

His event: raising money for the Life Challenge Annual Walkathon. If there were an Olympic Gold Medal for heart and determination for Walkathon, LaRue Davis would have won it many times over. He embodies the spirit of friendly, yet fierce, competition.

You wouldn’t know it meeting him; he seems quiet, reserved, but by any measure, LaRue is fierce. He likes to take life head on and test his mettle against the best. He always has. His beginnings were humble, quiet, even hush-hush. For most of his life he believed his mother was his sister and his grandmother his mother. He suspected, but he never knew until his mother was on her deathbed. It was a forgivable deception, but life could be confusing, daunting, overwhelming for a young boy in his neighborhood. Not for LaRue. He was determined to make the most of his circumstances.

He grew up on Detroit’s west side and graduated from Pershing High School. He went on to community college, then Virginia Union University, followed by a brilliant career at Michigan State. Finally, he capped his education with a law degree from prestigious Howard University in Georgetown, D.C. LaRue has always excelled. Last month, he was elected to the Life Challenge Board of Directors. Just what we need. Fierce.

So, in the spirit of friendly, fierce competition, LaRue issues this challenge: show up at Kensington Metro Parks for the annual walkathon event, Invest In A Life: September 15, 2012. Bring what you got. Test yourself. Get sponsors. Help us raise the money we need to continue our ministry to the lost, the broken, the heavy-laden who struggle with life-defeating hurts, hang-ups and habits. If you see LaRue with his clipboard at the doors of his beloved Brightmoor, where he greets his fellows every Sunday, you have a choice to make. You can sign up to sponsor him, or you can take him on. It’s Walkathon time, time to fish or cut bait.