Hey brother,

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If you’re reading this, it’s because I am finally on my home stretch and soon I will become an Ironman for the 7th time.

Not only will I be crossing that finish line as an Ironman, but I will be crossing with mom and dad in tow. And, if everything goes as planned, I will be using my platform to help mom’s dream become a reality by helping raise money for causes I am sure mom would have loved.

I just wanted to take this moment to let you know how much I love you and how grateful I have been to have you as a brother.

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You have been there for me through everything; even when you didn’t fully support my decisions at the time, you reluctantly funded my journey to Lake Tahoe not once but twice to help me see my dream become reality.  I will never forget how I was so close to not finishing that race and honestly I feel the only thing that really kept my head in the game was knowing that you and Linda were there with mom to cheer me on across that finish line.

I knew I let you down by putting my races before my work as I was in no way financially stable.

And I knew that failure was not an option for me as of all things I didn’t want to let you down again by not even finishing that race.

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I am sure there will be nothing easy today about what I am doing, let alone, I am sure by the time you read this I will have had to battle so many demons trying to get me to give up and go home. Leave it to me to make something like an Ironman even harder and attempt to do it in boots.  Honestly I feel the reason I do the things I do is because I am always trying to  find a way make you proud!

 

Of course, I also try to build my brand I’ve been creating as well as create an environment that mom would have been proud of, which is why I am glad I found an organization that fits with what I stand for.

This race will be my 7th full distance finish.

7 was dads lucky number

You were there for my first

You where there for my 2nd and first Ironman brand

And you are here for my 7th

And with this finish I should be solidifying my spot to the Ironman world championship

11 years ago and 11 days  we said goodbye to our dad

With this race I qualify for the world championship, which will take place exactly 2 years after we had our last real conversation with our mom.

I will never forget what I told her.

 

I told her that I will start a team in her honor and I will use whatever platform I can build for myself to give back to others and make sure everyone knows what wonderful parents we had.

But most importantly what really brings everything together for me is the amazing brother I have to hold me up when things seem so dark.

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You taught me how to be tough.

You taught me how to be a better person.

You pushed me in to plumbing.

You supported my first duathlon.

You supported my Ironman journey until now.

You supported my plan to start my own company.

Somehow I was able to build it to the point it’s at now.

I owe it all to you!

 

I would not be the man I am today without you in my life.

I think about that every day.

Words will never express how deeply I love you.

 

As I approach this finish line I am sure I will have a rush of emotion as I am one step closer to realizing my lifelong dream of earning a race entry to the world championship race.

I am doing something I promised both our parents I would do and carrying them with me.

A part of the VIP package is that we are allowed to have the person who means the most put this medal over our head.   That person is you!  Because without you I would still be a punk kid working at Dominos thinking it’s awesome if I make $130 a day.

 

Will you do me the honor of bringing me across that finish line and giving me my medal, as well as giving me the hug I know mom and dad would want to give me if they were here today?!