Running for Our Neighbors: Eaton Fire Recovery

The Eaton Fire stopped half a mile from our house. Elise's parents were even luckier - it waved hi from across the street as it burned their neighbors' house down, but spared theirs. Warren's afterschool teacher wasn't as fortunate - losing not only her home but her parents' house next door. Children's Country House - the preschool we sent our boys to - is gone. Sidepie, our favorite local pizza place owned by the family of one of Warren's preschool classmates, burned down too. It's hard to describe the emptiness the fire left behind in many of these blocks since that night of January 7th, 2025.

The few days after the fire brought a feeling of helplessness, not knowing what could be done. Then came what I can only describe as a moment of questionable judgment: I decided to train for a marathon. Mind you, I've never really run longer than 4 miles before. After my first long training run, wisdom (and my legs) prevailed, so I scaled back to the LA Half Marathon on March 16th - still just 9 weeks (now 8 week) away. Polymarket will probably give you good odds on whether I finish or not.

Two weeks into training, I just completed my longest run ever - 5 miles in the rain. Every step was a reminder of why we're doing this: our community needs sustained support, not just in the immediate aftermath, but in the long journey ahead.

We're aiming to raise $10,000 to help support our neighbors, particularly those whose lives intersect with ours daily - the teachers who nurture our children, the local business owners who make our community special, and the families whose children share classrooms with ours.

I'll be posting updates about both this unlikely training journey and our community's recovery efforts over the next eight weeks. While news cameras may move on, our neighbors will still be rebuilding their lives. Every dollar raised will go directly to helping these families and businesses rebuild.

Follow along on this slow trod to 13.1 miles. Whether you can donate or simply share this campaign, you'll be helping our community recover, one step at a time.