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I have been waiting a long time to make this announcement to my parents and since it’s now a year away, I can finally do so. My parents have given me everything life has to offer. I always want what’s best for them, and would do anything to make that happen. My father has always taught me to be a positive person with a great outlook on the world. He has always been my role model and shaped me to become the husband, father and man that I am today.
For those of you who don’t know, my father Don Anderson has been battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer for the past 3 years now. Never in a million years did I think my strong, healthy and full of life father would have to go through the pain and agony that he has. Cancer has definitely fought hard, but my father is no quitter. Through the countless hospital visits, the months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and infusions, the strong medications that make him feel beyond lethargic and weak for months at a time, he does not quit. There was one time in the hospital, he was sitting next to me and he says, “David, my body and my mind is telling me to give up and I want to, but you know me, I will not.” I could go on forever with how much pain and hardship that cancer has had on my father and my family, but I won’t. Instead, I will continue to be hopeful and positive with my wishes for a better and healthier future! My parents have had to cancel several trips because of my father’s health, but I am hoping that this announcement will provide the strength he needs to go on the trip of his lifetime.
For my 30th birthday gift to myself, and with my wife’s constant support, I will be participating in the 2019 Worlds Toughest Mudder, or WTM on November 16th and 17th, 2019. This isn’t like the usual 10-mile Tough Mudder course that I complete 2 to 3 of each year, however. This event is a 24-hour long event that I, alongside my friend Jacob Hogan will be competing in for my father, Don Anderson. The course for Worlds Toughest Mudder is a 5-mile long loop where the 26 obstacles are continuously changing throughout the night. With the name “TEAM DON” written on the back of our bibs for race day, we are going to give it our all. Our goal for this event is to endure the course for 50 miles before crossing that finish line for the last time.
I am constantly asked and even questioned as to why I choose to run Tough Mudder obstacle course races. People think I’m crazy most of the time, and question why I’d want to run in mud for 10+ miles while getting electrocuted and submerged in ice tubs while getting beat up along the way through the various obstacles. The easy and truthful answers would be that it’s a feeling of accomplishment for me, it’s entertaining overcoming the obstacles and the fears that I have, and plainly, it’s a ton of fun. For me though, the feeling is much deeper than that. It is hard to explain in words, but Tough Mudder to me is almost a metaphor to what life should be like. People of all races, ethnicities, sex and religions stand together ready for the unknown ahead of them. There’s an energy unlike any other when Sean gathers everyone at the starting line and gives his pre-race speech. Once on the course, everyone is out there together with a smile on their face. Just like life, there are many obstacles in your way through the winding course and many times, you will fail at obstacles just as with life. It’s not about how or why you failed at a particular obstacle or stretch of the event, it is simply how you get yourself up and figure out how to better yourself for the next obstacle. People of all teams on the course are lending a hand to help their fellow Mudders, as there are some individuals who need the help. The encouragement and comradery that you find on a Tough Mudder course is the most uplifting feeling in the world. Jacob and I will stay at certain obstacles of high difficulty for an extensive amount of time assisting others through the event. Once finishing and completing the Tough Mudder event, there’s always room for a nice cold beer with your friends at the conclusion while you think about how you can better yourself for the next event.
I want to thank everyone who has known about me doing this event for the past year or so and hasn’t informed my parents of it yet. It’s safe to say that I have been training my ass off 6 days a week at the gym to prepare for this event. There are way too many people to thank individually for their constant support, encouragement, prayers for my father and my family, and for the kind words through my journey. To my family and friends and you know who you are, thank you! You mean the world to me and your kindness does not go unnoticed. Thank you for everyone who continues to pray for my father and wears their “Team Don Anderson Strong” band. Mine has never come off and will remain with me always.
With that being said, this event that I will be giving my all for isn’t for me. I have been looking forward to this for years now but this is for you dad. You have provided me with everything in life and this is a very small way that I can give back. I have started a GoFundMe donation account for this event in your name. I have donated $500.00 and I ask for anyone who wishes to donate for my father and for anyone else who has had cancer impact and/or affect their lives in any way to do so and I will give it my all out on that course a year from now. With the money raised, I want to send my parents on a well-deserved trip that my dad chooses. Emergency doctor trips have deterred my parents from going away on trips they had planned. He deserves the best trip possible, and this would be an honor of mine to send them away with your help. I want to also donate some of the money to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to assist them in finding a cure for this vile disease. I know when my dad finds out about this, he will tell me that he doesn’t want me doing this and doesn’t want me donating money in his name and so on because that’s who he is. He is the kindest person I know and to that comment dad, I say to you, “This is my choice and this is for you.” Keep fighting like I know you will and thank you for being the most positive and influential person in my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you and not a second passes that I don’t wish that this disease would leave your body for good. At Tough Mudder they have a few quotes that I have chosen to live by. “When was the last time that you’ve done something for the first time.” Every day I live life to the fullest and try something new. Life is simply too short not to. “Nobody is better than your best, but your best will make you better.” Every day I go out there and give it my all and I always will.
For those of you who don’t know, my father Don Anderson has been battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer for the past 3 years now. Never in a million years did I think my strong, healthy and full of life father would have to go through the pain and agony that he has. Cancer has definitely fought hard, but my father is no quitter. Through the countless hospital visits, the months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and infusions, the strong medications that make him feel beyond lethargic and weak for months at a time, he does not quit. There was one time in the hospital, he was sitting next to me and he says, “David, my body and my mind is telling me to give up and I want to, but you know me, I will not.” I could go on forever with how much pain and hardship that cancer has had on my father and my family, but I won’t. Instead, I will continue to be hopeful and positive with my wishes for a better and healthier future! My parents have had to cancel several trips because of my father’s health, but I am hoping that this announcement will provide the strength he needs to go on the trip of his lifetime.
For my 30th birthday gift to myself, and with my wife’s constant support, I will be participating in the 2019 Worlds Toughest Mudder, or WTM on November 16th and 17th, 2019. This isn’t like the usual 10-mile Tough Mudder course that I complete 2 to 3 of each year, however. This event is a 24-hour long event that I, alongside my friend Jacob Hogan will be competing in for my father, Don Anderson. The course for Worlds Toughest Mudder is a 5-mile long loop where the 26 obstacles are continuously changing throughout the night. With the name “TEAM DON” written on the back of our bibs for race day, we are going to give it our all. Our goal for this event is to endure the course for 50 miles before crossing that finish line for the last time.
I am constantly asked and even questioned as to why I choose to run Tough Mudder obstacle course races. People think I’m crazy most of the time, and question why I’d want to run in mud for 10+ miles while getting electrocuted and submerged in ice tubs while getting beat up along the way through the various obstacles. The easy and truthful answers would be that it’s a feeling of accomplishment for me, it’s entertaining overcoming the obstacles and the fears that I have, and plainly, it’s a ton of fun. For me though, the feeling is much deeper than that. It is hard to explain in words, but Tough Mudder to me is almost a metaphor to what life should be like. People of all races, ethnicities, sex and religions stand together ready for the unknown ahead of them. There’s an energy unlike any other when Sean gathers everyone at the starting line and gives his pre-race speech. Once on the course, everyone is out there together with a smile on their face. Just like life, there are many obstacles in your way through the winding course and many times, you will fail at obstacles just as with life. It’s not about how or why you failed at a particular obstacle or stretch of the event, it is simply how you get yourself up and figure out how to better yourself for the next obstacle. People of all teams on the course are lending a hand to help their fellow Mudders, as there are some individuals who need the help. The encouragement and comradery that you find on a Tough Mudder course is the most uplifting feeling in the world. Jacob and I will stay at certain obstacles of high difficulty for an extensive amount of time assisting others through the event. Once finishing and completing the Tough Mudder event, there’s always room for a nice cold beer with your friends at the conclusion while you think about how you can better yourself for the next event.
I want to thank everyone who has known about me doing this event for the past year or so and hasn’t informed my parents of it yet. It’s safe to say that I have been training my ass off 6 days a week at the gym to prepare for this event. There are way too many people to thank individually for their constant support, encouragement, prayers for my father and my family, and for the kind words through my journey. To my family and friends and you know who you are, thank you! You mean the world to me and your kindness does not go unnoticed. Thank you for everyone who continues to pray for my father and wears their “Team Don Anderson Strong” band. Mine has never come off and will remain with me always.
With that being said, this event that I will be giving my all for isn’t for me. I have been looking forward to this for years now but this is for you dad. You have provided me with everything in life and this is a very small way that I can give back. I have started a GoFundMe donation account for this event in your name. I have donated $500.00 and I ask for anyone who wishes to donate for my father and for anyone else who has had cancer impact and/or affect their lives in any way to do so and I will give it my all out on that course a year from now. With the money raised, I want to send my parents on a well-deserved trip that my dad chooses. Emergency doctor trips have deterred my parents from going away on trips they had planned. He deserves the best trip possible, and this would be an honor of mine to send them away with your help. I want to also donate some of the money to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to assist them in finding a cure for this vile disease. I know when my dad finds out about this, he will tell me that he doesn’t want me doing this and doesn’t want me donating money in his name and so on because that’s who he is. He is the kindest person I know and to that comment dad, I say to you, “This is my choice and this is for you.” Keep fighting like I know you will and thank you for being the most positive and influential person in my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you and not a second passes that I don’t wish that this disease would leave your body for good. At Tough Mudder they have a few quotes that I have chosen to live by. “When was the last time that you’ve done something for the first time.” Every day I live life to the fullest and try something new. Life is simply too short not to. “Nobody is better than your best, but your best will make you better.” Every day I go out there and give it my all and I always will.