On Sunday, July 21st, 2024, Zach suited up and was ready to complete a half Ironman in Sandusky, Ohio. Anyone who knows Zach knows how hard he has trained, and how many races he has completed, including a full Ironman 2 years ago today. But this race did not go quite as planned.

When he entered the water to start the race, after about 2 minutes in, his chest tightened up and he was unable to catch his breath. He was pulled from the water and ended up in the ER. After a couple of hours and some tests were run, it was found that he has a cancerous mass by his heart. This news was obviously shocking to hear and very unexpected due to him being a healthy and fit 22-year-old.

We have been at the Firelands Hospital and they have taken such good care of him. He is now being transferred to Cleveland Clinic to start his treatment plan and will be there for at least 3 weeks. Zach has a long journey ahead of him with about 8-10 months of treatment, with a maintenance phase of a year to a year and a half after. But he is the strongest, most determined person we know and we have NO doubt he will beat this. Please keep Zach in your prayers and any amount that you can give helps and is very much appreciated.