Many of you know that I do Obstacle Course Races and Triathlons, some of you may even know that I have two major goal races remaining before the end of the year. On October 14th I will be taking on my first ever Full Ironman in Louisville Kentucky and on November 11th in Atlanta Georgia I will face down World’s Toughest Mudder. These races will be different for me, both physically and mentally. They will push me to and likely past limits I didn’t even realize exist, but this time when I race I will be completing my miles for a cause.
A few years ago, my dad told me a story of his childhood that I will never forget. When Paul was a kid he was diagnosed with cancer at a time when very few people even knew what cancer was, but his family fought it with him. They took him to John’s Hopkins and there in the basement he received treatment that kept him alive, but at the time, the treatment seemed to be almost worse than the disease he was trying to survive. Then something changed, one night my grandfather prayed with my dad and begged God to trade places with his son, that he wanted to suffer or die instead. That was when the fight turned around and my father eventually outlived the killer we are all too familiar with today. Decades later, Pop fell ill with cancer and they tried treatments that far outshine what was done to my dad years before. Time catches up to us all but sometimes it waits, and my granddad died of cancer over 45 years later, on the same date he asked to go instead.
For each mile I finish, my wife and I will donate $2 in my father’s name and in Pop’s honor to a charity of my father’s choice. https://www.wecancerve.org/ is a local charity in Harford County Maryland started by a childhood cancer survivor to help support kids and families that cannot afford to fight on their own. My dad is excited to see all the great things they can do with the money I help raise. My hope is that you will make a pledge like ours or commit to a donation through us. (Planning to put everything through after my races, the week of November 12th) Be warned, if I meet my goals in both races I will have swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, run 26.2 miles, and raced 75 obstacle heavy miles across these two events so the per mile pledge will likely add up fast. Anything you can give would be a great help to families in need and children with cancer. Please consider this and remember that any gift no matter how small could change someone’s life. We expect to be writing a check for $431.20 and I would like to gather a total of $2,500 to contribute to the We Cancerve Movement.
Thank you for reading this and considering a donation, it means a lot to my family but would give hope or maybe life to those with nothing left.
