As most of you know, I had a snowmobile accident several years ago that resulted in a spinal cord injury. Since then my life has been enriched with new experiences, activities & relationships despite being confined to a wheelchair. One of those relationships is with my good friend Geoff Kent. We were brought together because both of us are living with an SCI & both played basketball for Coach Bob Ward at different schools. Geoff has been a huge help & mentor for me not only with life but also in the sport of wheelchair racing.

I am running the Chicago Marathon on October 8th to help raise funds for Team SCIS/u2fp. Geoff's organization, Spinal Cord Injury Sucks (SCIS), and Unite 2 Fight Paralysis (U2FP) are two non-profit organizations removing taboos about life with paralysis and raising funds for spinal cord injury research. In today's tough economy, where every charitable dollar matters, I have chosen to run on behalf of a tremendous cause. Team SCIS started with 7 runners in the 2008 Chicago Marathon, and has grown ever since, joining forces with U2FP in 2015. The Chicago Marathon charity team has been a tremendous success story—we have raised over $650,000 for SCI research. On October 8th, in the 10th annual SCIS/u2fp Chicago Marathon program, I am one of 14 runners, 6 in wheelchairs, advancing this important cause.

It is an extremely exciting time in the field of spinal cord injury cure research, but the best labs, working on the most promising therapies are still chronically and critically underfunded. For example, in 2013, SCIS raised enough money to cover the annual cost of TWO full-time post-doctoral researchers. Think about that: a few runners running a few miles was enough to finance two PhD-educated scientists working on therapies to cure spinal cord injury for a full year. That is an important, powerful charitable impact, and I strongly encourage you to help out. U2FP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means all of your donations on my behalf are tax-deductible. THANK YOU for your support!!!

Hometown:  Round Lake Beach, IL
Time Goal:  Under 2:00

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis and Spinal Cord Injury Sucks are proud to partner again this year as an official charity team for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Team SCIS/u2fp is a group of passionate, hard working runners and wheelchair racers committed to racing the 26.2 miles and fundraising to advance research towards a cure for spinal cord injury.

The team raised over $73,000 in the past two years. All funds directly support our mission: to cure paralysis through advocacy, education, and support for research. Thank you for your support!