Widower Uses Running For Healing; Raises Funds For Scholarships

Back in 2018, I stood at my hotel window in Chicago and watched thousands of runners pour through the streets at the start of the Chicago Marathon. I remember thinking how incredible it was to witness — and how certain I was that I'd never be one of them. Running 26.2 miles wasn't in my plans. It wasn't even on my radar.

Life has a way of putting us on paths we never expected. After my wife, Lorie, passed away following her battle with gallbladder cancer, my world changed forever. In the middle of that grief, my therapist challenged me to keep growing and moving forward — and to do something I never thought I could: run a full marathon.

That challenge became my first marathon. Running became part of how I healed. Each mile gave me space to process grief I couldn't put into words anywhere else — to let the tears flow, to move forward one step at a time, even on the days I didn't feel like getting out of bed.

Fast forward to 2026, and I'm back on the streets of Chicago — this time running the marathon itself, on Sunday, October 11, to raise scholarship funds for the Ezekiel Taylor Scholarship Foundation. Their mission is to support young, college-bound Black men in Chicago whose lives have been forever changed due to gun violence; a number now unfortunately living with the loss of a loved one.

I know firsthand that loss reshapes you. Their lives may never be the same — but that doesn't mean their story is written. I've seen, through my own journey, that grief can be channeled into purpose. My hope is that this scholarship gives these young men the chance to honor the loved ones they've lost by pursuing their education, building a future, and becoming examples for their communities of what's possible even after unimaginable loss.

I'm running these 26.2 miles to help these young men take that next step. 100% of your donation goes directly to funding scholarships and career programming for college-bound young men through the Ezekiel Taylor Scholarship Foundation. Any amount you're able to give means more than you know.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me — for helping me honor my own story of loss, and for helping these young men write theirs.