Hello, I am a former Marine, husband of 26 years, and a father to 6 earthly and 1 heavenly child. My life is literally my family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, I have been on a path to levels of fitness I never even achieved while in the Corps. One reason was for my overall health and well being. 26 years of leading a family means 26 years of sacrifice which I signed up for and would never change. But I want to do something for me and more importantly to show my love and solidarity for our current servicemen and women. I want to embrace the Iwo Jima Memorial at the end of my very first marathon, the Marine Core Marathon to be exact. The reason for the Go Fund Me is that I have much less time to prepare than I thought, so I am asking for your help in raising money for this bucket list endeavor. I have long scoffed at the various go fund me’s that I’ve seen as not all but some can be ridiculous. I’m taking a shot in the dark that this beautiful country in this beautiful world is still full of beautiful people that will back a good man on a worthy mission. I wanted to mention that the funds I am hoping to raise are for entrance fees and travel to DC. I would not dream of accepting any money for my pocket so to speak, if for some reason there are excess funds, I would donate it all to a charity to assist veterans in need. Thank you for your time, and for proving that this world and this country are full of amazing people.