What do you do when you get a tongue cancer diagnosis in your 30s? Why, you commit to ask everyone you know (and maybe some you do not) to provide folks clean water, of course! And then join a (semi) strict exercise regimen of preparing for a half-marathon to honor the contributions of all those awesome people, while preparing your body with a baseline of conditioning for whatever treatment course lies ahead.

Update: Surgery was successful. Clear margins, and nothing in the lymph nodes. Radiation is not recommended (nor chemo). So what lies ahead? Slow runs—when pushing hard, the healing incision site throbs with all the blood vessels added to the area to effect repairs. Waiting for the numbness and tingling to go away; up to 6 months for it to heal...or for me to get used to it. Frequent checkups with ENT. Extra time with family to restore connections. Clean water for kids and their communities (with your help, of course).


I'm running with Team World Vision to help provide life-changing clean water to children and communities in the developing world. My wife and I were considering a year off. Last season we ran less total miles in all of training than on race day, after welcoming our kids as training season was starting. My watch had auto-adjusted my daily step goal down below 4000 steps. Then came the biopsy results. So we knew we needed to take drastic steps to make sure my body could start treatment from a healthy place. And I still do not like running. The best motivation I have found is hoping my steps will through some crazy math of God's plan, and donors' generosity, bring kids and communities in need clean water. So we signed up for the 2024 LA Marathon Charity Challenge (half) that very night. It may turn out that the treatment takes a toll too great, and I have to bow out, but that will not stop kids getting clean water. So I run.

More than 800 children under age 5 die every day from diarrhea caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation, and improper hygiene. But we believe the global water and sanitation crisis can be solved within our lifetimes. 

$50 = clean water for 1 person

Will you invest in the future and provide clean water for 1, 2, 3, or even more people?

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SPONSOR A CHILD

Help me increase my impact by sponsoring a child! Child sponsorship and clean water funding work hand in hand to address the needs of a community. Choose a child to sponsor or allow a child to choose you using the links below. Be sure to let me know if you sponsor a child so that I can celebrate the start of this awesome journey with you!

BE CHOSEN BY A CHILD  OR  SPONSOR A CHILD
*Keep a note of your sponsored child's first name (if available) and your order number to send back to the TWV participant you are supporting.

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World Vision provides more clean water than any nongovernment organization in the world, providing clean water to one new person every 10 seconds. They work to help communities lift themselves out of poverty for good by addressing issues around clean water, hunger, health, education, economic empowerment, and child protection. About World Vision