Event Info

Date: March 1, 2027 to April 19, 2027

Location: Florida to NYC

My Story: 

In March 2027, I will run from Florida to New York City — over 1,300 miles in 50 days — to raise awareness and funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

But this run didn’t start with strength. It started in a hospital bed. From ages 17 to 23, I was self-destructing.

I was born with cystic fibrosis — a life-shortening genetic lung disease. Instead of fighting it, I ran from it. I drank 5–6 days a week. I partied hard. I ignored my treatments. I skipped the therapies that were keeping me alive. I told myself I was “normal.”

In reality, I was masking fear. Masking anger. Masking undiagnosed mental health struggles. Masking the weight of living with a disease that could take me out early.

Most of my hospitalizations happened during those years. IVs in my arms. Lung infections. Low pulmonary function test scores. Watching my body break down because I wasn’t taking care of it.

At 23 years old, sitting in a hospital bed after another admission, a nurse looked at me and said: “Looks like this is your new way of life — getting hospitalized frequently.” That sentence hit harder than any diagnosis.

In that moment, I knew the truth. If I kept living the way I was living, I’d be lucky to make it another five years. At best, I’d be on oxygen, waiting for a lung transplant. At worst, I wouldn’t be here.

That was my wake-up call. I made a decision in that hospital bed. No more running from the disease. No more numbing it. No more pretending I wasn’t sick. If this body was going to fight, I was going to fight with it.

Since that day, I’ve trained relentlessly. I’ve prioritized my health. I’ve built strength where there was once weakness. I’ve built discipline where there was once chaos.

Now I’m a husband. Now I’m a father. Now I have kids who need their dad around for decades — not years. 

Every mile is for:

• The kid ignoring treatments because he’s scared

• The young adult masking pain with alcohol

• The patient sitting in a hospital bed thinking this is it

• The families who just want more time

Cystic fibrosis is still a life-shortening disease. But we are not done fighting. I’m running for more breath. More years. More birthdays. More tomorrows.

This run is about resilience. It’s about owning the hard things in life. And it’s about funding research that turns cystic fibrosis from a fatal disease into a manageable condition — and one day, a cure.

Join me. Support the mission. Own the hard.