In a little less than a month, hundreds of superheroes will take to the streets of New Hampshire's Upper Connecticut Valley. Most of them will be runners and walkers merely dressed up as superheroes. Among them will be one special little guy with some legitimate superhero credentials.

By now you may have heard of Anthony Smith, the Salem 4-year-old who spent some time in the national spotlight after Marvel Comics created a character inspired by him.

Blue Ear came into being after Anthony's mother, Christina D'Allesandro, took what she describes as a “long shot” to convince her son to wear his hearing aid by sending an email to Marvel Comics.

Anthony, who was born with no right ear and limited hearing in the left, had suddenly refused to wear his hearing aid, telling his mother, “Superheroes don't wear hearing aids.” At first, D'Allesandro did what many mothers would do: She fibbed.

“I told him Captain America has one under his mask,” D'Allesandro recalled.

She confessed to recruiting her friends to go along with the story. “But I knew eventually he was going to figure out that I wasn't telling the truth.”

Enter Marvel Comics. Her inquiry to the general email inbox — just to find out if there were any superheroes with hearing aids — landed on the right desk. Not long after, a reply came, along with a 1984 comic cover featuring the Avenger character Hawkeye, seen wearing a hearing aid.

The response didn't stop there. Anthony and Christina's story found its way to Marvel's Nelson Ribeiro, who has a hearing-impaired grandfather. Ribeiro was so touched by Anthony's story that he created Blue Ear, a character who dons a blue hearing device just like Anthony's. Naturally, Anthony has become Little Blue Ear.

Now Anthony is inspiring some of his family's real-life heroes at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth. The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's audiology department has formed Team Super Hear-oes for the Oct. 21 CHaD Half Marathon and Ripcord 5K. Team Super Hear-oes is made up of staff from the audiology department, patients and families of hearing-impaired patients — has raised more than $2,000.

To date, the team is one of about 100 adding to the running total of almost $200,000 in fundraising for the event. Many of the teams are open to the pubic for a $20 registration fee and fundraising minimum of $60. The Positive Tracks foundation once again is matching donations raised by anyone under the age of 23, up to $100,000. For the first time, CHaD teams this year can designate a portion of their fundraising to specific programs, such as the audiology department, family resource center or child-life center.

It's no surprise that the superhero-themed race, now in its seventh year, is as popular as it's become. Runners (and walkers) are encouraged to dress as their favorite hero — whether that be a superhero with a cape or a more everyday hero, such as a doctor or firefighter.

Plus, this year's event provides additional incentive to visit a beautiful part of the state at the height of a beautiful season. Organizers, who were dealt a blow from Hurricane Irene last year, this year moved the race from August to October, something I suspect will be welcomed by local runners.

It all starts on Oct. 21 at 11:30 a.m. with the 1-mile Cam's Course, followed by a noon start for the half marathon and 5K. For more information, visit www.chadhalf.org.

For some runners, it's a fun opportunity to run in a cape and mask. For parents such as D'Allensandro, it's a way to give back.

“CHaD has done an awful lot for us, “D'Allesandro said. “We work with an amazing team of 1,000 and superheroes up there.”

D'Allesandro and her husband plan to run the 5K. Anthony and his brother will take on Cam's Course. The rest of the team will do various race options, from the 1-mile fun run to the 13.1-mile half marathon. You will probably be able to spot Anthony in the crowd. Naturally, he will be dressed as his new favorite superhero, Little Blue Ear.

Teresa Robinson's NH Runner column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News. Email her at NHRunner123@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @teresakrobinson.