“Tri-ing My Best” is my personal campaign in honor of my brother Christopher, who I lost to suicide in 2001, and in support of all of those battling depression, or who have otherwise been affected by suicide.  We are all “trying our best.”  On September 13^th, 2015, as part of my campaign, I will "tri my best"  in an Ironman distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run).

About 14 years ago I lost my younger brother, Christopher, to suicide.  He was seventeen at the time and had been battling depression for much of his life.  Instead of allowing the loss to completely derail me, I decided the best way to honor him was to make a commitment to live each day to the fullest.  I would attempt to confront challenges head on, embrace new experience, and along the way, make sure to fully appreciate, engage, and support family, friends, and strangers in their own daily struggles. 

Believe me; this is all much easier said than done.  I had my own personal struggles with depression after his loss, but I promised myself I would do my best to endure, and maintain an optimistic attitude, being thankful for my time with him and not angry for the time that was taken away.  And hopefully by living this way, I might help inspire others to approach life, and all of its ups and downs, with a sense of hope, humility, and perseverance.

As part of my personal commitment to continue to challenge myself, I took up the sport of triathlons about 4 years ago after I moved to San Francisco from Chicago.  At that time I couldn’t even swim one length of a pool without stopping to gasp for air, but I bought a wetsuit and started swimming regularly in the chilly San Francisco Bay (as cold as 50 degress during the winter).  I slowly started to figure it out and have since completed six triathlons including four Half-Ironmans and Escape from Alcatraz, where participants swim 1.5 miles back to shore from the notorious Alcatraz Island.

Now on September 13^th I will attempt to complete my first full Ironman.  The race, which I expect to take about 13 hours to complete, has been sort of a buck list item for me because of what it represented: an ultimate belief in myself, a willingness to accept support from others, and a lot of hard work (typically training both before and after work).  A year ago I never would have believed I could finish something like this.  It has shown me how much one is actually capable of.  Putting this all in perspective though, this is just a race, and merely a personal goal.  More importantly I hope that by telling the story of my brother I can bring more awareness to the much greater issue of depression and suicide, as well as inspiring others to embrace challenge and live the life that they dream of living.