6 months ago, I lost my father. This past weekend would have been his 67th birthday and I wanted to do something special for it.

On December 7th, in his honor, I'll be doing my first-ever half Ironman and fundraising for his favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Why I'm doing this:

After my dad passed, I started training for triathlons. Swimming, biking, and running gave me time away from my phone and computer to reflect, to grieve, and to remember how blessed I was to have such an incredible father. I think about him everyday, especially when I'm training. I always told him that someday I would complete an Ironman. This race is for him.

My dad's greatest joy in life was seeing his kids and grandkids happy. To honor his memory, I’m using this milestone to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an organization that ensures families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food.

I’ve set up 4 meaningful donation levels, each tied to the race:

$140.60 - The distance in miles of a full Ironman, which I hope to complete in 2026

$70.30 – The distance in miles I’ll be racing in this Half Ironman

$35.15 – Half of this race's distance in miles (equal to about 1 lunch or 1 double margarita in Los Angeles, which you could donate to this cause instead to support kids in need)

$7.03 – 10 cents per mile, for those who want to show support but are on a tighter budget

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting St. Jude, for honoring my dad’s legacy, and for helping kids who deserve a chance at a healthy, happy life.

Much love,

Brian

More about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate in the U.S. from 20% to more than 80%. But in many countries only 1 out of 5 children who develop cancer will survive. Every child deserves a chance to live their best life and celebrate every moment.

Every contribution, big or small, makes a real impact.