For years I've supported Tunnel to Towers through the Plandome Fire Department, where I'm an active member. This year, for the first time, I'm asking for your help too.

The run retraces the path Stephen Siller took on September 11, 2001, when he strapped on roughly 60 pounds of gear and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel toward the Towers while everyone else ran the other way. He never made it home. This year's race, on Sunday, September 27th, is the 25th running of the event. This 5K run starts on the Brooklyn side of the tunnel and finishes at Ground Zero, including around 30,000 participants and honoring the 343 FDNY firefighters and the thousands of others lost that day.

2026 is also the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. Both landing in the same year is part of why this one feels different to me.

My wife and children are running with me this year. I'll be running the course in my full turnout gear and a 40-pound weight vest — nothing close to what Siller carried, but a way of putting some weight on my own back for a few miles.

https://runsignup.com/bradcoppens goes to our team page.

Thank you for reading this, and for whatever you're able to do.

Brad