Racing for Raina

As most of you know, my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer earlier this summer. Obviously this has put tremendous stress and anxiety on our entire family but nothing compared to the battles she endures everyday. If   anyone knows Raina, then they know she has enough personality to share with us all. But what I consider her best attribute is her faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although all the days are not rainbows and butterflies she continues to rely on the promises of our Savior. How she keeps a smile and a positive attitude during this unprecedented time is a testimony in itself. Our faith has grown stronger by just her actions. Actions truely are louder than words. With all this being said, she would never ask for anything other than prayers, but as we all know, times like these are tough on everyone and everything. So, in honor of her fight against cancer, I’ve decided to compete in an Ironman next September in Chattanooga. An Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run.  Anyone that knows me, knows that this is way out of my comfort zone. From the little I already know, it’s not going to be comfortable or enjoyable a lot of the times. The training is long, hard and requires discipline and persistency. Anyone who’s crazy enough to attempt an Ironman knows it will require early mornings, late nights and stress not only on my body but on my family as well. My reason for explaining this is not to toot my own horn because I’ve literally done nothing at this point but sign up (the easy part). What I want to express, is how hard this actually is to complete and that’s exactly why I chose to do this. My decision was simple. If Raina has to be in pain, then I need to be in pain. If Raina has to suffer and endure, then I will as well. It’s going to be tough but nothing like what she will be dealing with. . If you’ve hung around long enough to get to this point then I hope you’ll be as surprised as Raina. This is the first time I’ve openly talked about this other than with a few of my closest friends and   family. This is something I hope Raina will use to find strength and endurance during this bump in the road. I will be using this platform to help financially support  Raina and her family. My goal is to raise   $100 per mile. I encourage and hope that anyone willing and able can support Raina’s fight. Obviously, I hope we blow the goal out the water but I’m  confident we can all pitch in and to       make life a little easier for the Simpson  family! We love you Raina B! And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes.  on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12: 1-3