Ryan Dyer, who graduated from Gorham High School in the spring, has seen some older relatives battle illnesses, but he wasn’t prepared for the phone call he received not long ago from a track coach.

Dyer learned that Adam Deveau, a runner and recent graduate from Mt. Blue High School, had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow.

“It was a shock. It didn’t seem real because he seemed so healthy. He’d won the Class A state cross country championship,” Dyer said. “At a younger age you think that you’re invincible and that things can’t faze you, but when something happens like this it puts things in perspective.”

Dyer met Deveau when the two were sophomores competing against each other at a 5K Junior Olympic race in Augusta. They’d exchange greetings and then small talk at other track and cross country events, and eventually became friends.

“I’ve made different friends throughout the years through running,” said Dyer, who will be attending USM in September. “It doesn’t matter what your ability is in cross country or track, it’s the person that you are. That’s what draws friendships.”

Dyer knew immediately that he wanted to do something to help his friend, and eventually he decided to run in Saturday’s Beach to Beacon 10K to raise money to help defray Deveau’s mounting medical bills.

“It feels good because I’ve had family members pass away from cancer and couldn’t really do anything for them. Adam is a great kid, and I know that he is the type of person to do something like this for another person.”

Another pair of runners, Miles Bartlett and Tyler Moulton, decided that they would contribute to Deveau’s cause as well. Bartlett, a state champion runner and a recent graduate of Lake Region High School, and Moulton, a Deering graduate, put together a 5K road race in Portland’s Back Bay that they called Devoted to Deveau.

“For me it was the fact that he couldn’t run and was stuck in a hospital,” said Bartlett. “I love running and I know if I wasn’t able to run it’d be terrible. We’re trying to raise money to get him on his feet as soon as possible.”

The event helped Bartlett and Moulton, both headed to UMaine in the fall, raise $1,700 for their friend. Various events in Farmington, where Mt. Blue is located, and in southern Maine have raised more than $20,000 to help Deveau and his family pay for treatment.

“It feels good,” said Dyer, “that I’m part of something so big.”