Hi there!

I began running after I found out my wife was pregant with our first child. They say that pregnancy is like running a marathon - so I thought there was no better way to empathize with my wife than to put myself through a marathon of my own. Little did I know that running would be something that would help save me.

I signed up for Grandma's and Twin Cities Marathon 2025 with two goals in mind: Finish the first marathon, and do not back out of the second marathon.

As someone who has always been in the gym, but never did their cardio, this was a battle for sure. I grew up playing sports: football, baseball, and weightlifting. I played baseball into college, and ended up needing shoulder surgery. After my surgery, I struggled very bad with my mental health. I always had inner thoughts, but I had always been distracted with activity, and when the activity had been put on hold, it started to boil over. 

The stigma behind mental health has shifted over the years, but at the time when I needed help, the time to get into a provider was months. I got help, which helped for a while, until it stopped helping. At the time, I was a new grad nurse, who was still trying to get my footing in this new adult world. COVID had shut down everything, and again, activities were taken away. 

I began to struggle again, and as I again asked for help, help was months away. After I was able to get the help I needed, I still felt like there was something missing. I was married to the love of my life, we were going to have our first child, I had been active with weightlifting and pickleball, but then I started running.

Running wasn't just challenging for me physically, but mentally. However, it has helped me with my mental health more than any pill ever could. Each time I run, I am able to push myself physically, and when my mind tells me to quit, or take the easy way out, I get the chance to fight back.

My father lost his battle with his mental health in April 2024. I would like to run Grandma's Marathon again in 2026 because I feel running has saved me from losing my battle.

I hope to earn money in honor of those fighting their battles, and to hopefully ensure those who need help do not have to wait multiple months as I did.