Shawn's Ironman 365 USA (The Big Announcement)

After the completion of the Ironman Texas and the unsuccessful campaign to get into Kona, I have to admit, I was exhausted.  We have been going 110% since before the Houston Marathon.  My body took a pounding from the training, but most importantly I was mentally exhausted.  When I received the news that I was not going to be invited to the Ironman World Championship through the Kona Inspired program it was disappointing, but it started a much needed break.

Right before the Houston Marathon, I received and ankle injury, and I was closely being monitored by my doctor.  Fortunately it was not limiting my range of motion or performance, but it was really annoying.  I felt that the specialist would recommend that I have surgery to remove the scar tissue that had developed from a previous ankle injury when I was younger.  It was re-injured because of the amount of distance running that I was doing, so I decided that I would cut my season short this year and seek out treatment for my ankle.  Fortunately, after an MRI, the doctors determined that surgery was not needed, but I would receive some sort of shot in my ankle to relieve the annoying pain that I was still noticing.

Taking the last month off from training has been great.  I have been able to spend A LOT of time with Shawn and Rachel, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.  This time off has also gave me a chance to reflect on what we did.  I guess I really did not realize how much we were able to accomplish this year.  The money that was raised to go the medical research was great, but the awareness of the cause was huge and laid the foundation for future fundraising with other athletes.

Shawn's Ironman is just one of many stories now that help raise money for Shawn's Anomaly.  I am so proud to be surrounded by amazing athletes and beginners that decided to take up the torch and choose Shawn's Anomaly as their Reason 2 Race.  Team Shawn's Anomaly is now 10 members strong and growing, and we have committed to providing assistance to several families.

After reflecting on the success, I still can't believe that it all started with just the inspiration I got from watching Shawn overcome those 3 surgeries in his first year of life to attempt to complete just ONE Ironman triathlon.  Of course that led me to thinking, if we can gain this much awareness for Shawn's Anomaly just by completing one Ironman Triathlon, what if I committed to completing many of them in a row.

Starting in March of 2013 after a long off-season dedicated to getting to an optimum weight and fitness level, I plan to complete every Ironman and two more 70.3 distance events in one year.  My hope is to raise $100 a mile for every mile completed.  That will be a total of 12 events, 1,546.6 miles, and $154,660.00.

I am dedicating each race to a family that has been affected by a congenital to give them an opportunity to tell their story and provide encouragement to other that there are people who care and you are not a lone. My hope is that the journey will raise the needed awareness that will allow us to provide education, hope, and help to the 1 in 30 families that are affected by congenital abnormalities throughout the world.

I know that most people will think that I am crazy for even attempting this, and you may be right, but with your support and the amazing dedication of my wife and family, I know that we can turn the impossible into possible once again.

I can't do this without your help so please follow the link CLICK HERE to help me complete this journey.