In a few sentences, tell us about the course you've chosen or designed for this year's Run-Walk-Roll event: Run walk roll and paddle! I'm going to ride a paddle board to circumnavigate Naples Island, Long Beach, California. This is a man-made island that was once marshlands, until some real estate geniuses decided 120 years ago to fill it in and Italianize it with canals and waterfront properties and call it Naples. Very cool lights during the winter holidays.

Describe your connection to U2FP, why you chose to run in support of U2FP, and your personal connection to the spinal cord injury and paralysis community: I manage the U2FP Scientific Advisory Board and help to explain the neurobiology of spinal cord injury recovery. Here we don’t make predictions — SCI is a complex problem within a bio-industrial system that's fundamentally dysfunctional. Our job is to educate the SCI community, explain where the friction points are and encourage engagement. SCI cures can be found, but not without the active participation of the people living the experience.

What is your fundraising goal? $1500

How far are you planning to go? 1 lap around the island. It's about 3 miles.

What is your goal time for that distance? One hour, maybe more.

What do you crave after training? Pizza and a nap.

Do you listen to anything when you train? No, only the sea birds and the slap of the surf on the board.

What makes you nervous or excited about the Run-Walk-Roll? I can't swim. Just kidding. I can't lose.

Fun Facts - tell us something unique or interesting about you? I like chocolate, Cuban cigars, heist movies, baseball, classic jazz, the Beach Boys, Beatles and the Clash. And old air cooled VWs, I've got a 67 bus in the garage.