Dear Friends and Family, 
As most of you know, I had a snowmobile accident over a decade ago that resulted in a Spinal Cord Injury. Since then my life has been enriched with new experiences, activities & relationships despite being a wheelchair user. One of those relationships is with my good friend Geoff Kent. We were brought together because both of us are living with an SCI & both played basketball for Coach Bob Ward at different schools. Geoff has been a HUGE help & mentor for me not only with life but also in the sport of Wheelchair Racing. He founded the organization Spinal Cord Injury Sucks, and after many years of fundraising for SCI research and cures, he handed the reins to Unite 2 Fight Paralysis, a non-profit with the same mission.

 I am running the Chicago Marathon on October 13th to help raise funds for U2FP! I have chosen to run on behalf of a tremendous cause. SCIS and now U2FP are removing taboos about life with paralysis and raising funds for spinal cord injury research. The Chicago Marathon is an important fundraiser for U2FP. It has been a tremendous success story—SCIS started with 7 runners in 2008, and now we have raised over $650,000 for spinal cord injury research. This year I am one of 18 team members, 12 runners and 6 wheelchair racers, advancing this important cause.

It is an extremely exciting time in the field of spinal cord injury cure research, but the best labs, working on the most promising therapies are still chronically and critically underfunded. For example, in 2013, we raised enough money to cover the annual cost of TWO full-time post-doctoral researchers. Think about that: a few runners running a few miles was enough to finance two PhD-educated scientists working on therapies to cure spinal cord injury for a full year. That is an important, powerful charitable impact, and I strongly encourage you to help out. U2FP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means all of your donations on my behalf are tax-deductible. THANK YOU for your support!!!

Time Goal: 2:00
 

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis is proud to be an official charity team for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2019. Team U2FP is a group of passionate, hard working runners and wheelchair racers committed to racing the 26.2 miles and fundraising to advance research towards a cure for spinal cord injury.

The team raised over $125,000 in the past few years. All funds directly support our mission: to cure paralysis through advocacy, education, and support for research. Thank you for your support!