Growing up with asthma, I’ve never been much of a runner. I can remember running the 200 meter dash in high school and having to go to the hospital about an hour later, because I couldn’t breathe. I was always in awe of seeing men and women in uniform. I knew it was something I just couldn’t do, because I just couldn’t run. My father is a Marine, and as a kid, I remember thinking he was invincible. As a child, I never thought about soldiers getting injured. Not our military. Our soldiers didn’t get hurt. Now that I’m older, a husband, and a father, family is all I think about. Soldiers are family, and family can get hurt. Living in Washington, DC, military men and women are everywhere. Soldiers are my friends, they are my family, and if any of them were injured I would give anything to help them. When I found out about The Semper Fi Fund, it made me think of my father and my family. How lucky my father is, and how lucky my family is that he made it home from Vietnam safe and sound.
It was always a dream to run, only because I never could. Now, I’m older and running isn’t a dream anymore. When I do run now, I think about our service members. I realize that no matter how hard it is for me, it’s harder for them. No matter how much I hurt and want to stop, they hurt more and never stop. In October 2020, I’m going to run my second Chicago marathon. What’s better than running the Chicago marathon again? Helping support a charity that helps our injured servicemembers at the same time, that’s how.
Please help me support The Semper Fi Fund by donating what you can.
