Hey there Community!

Okay, what is this guy up to now?

For those of you who know me or even for those who have only met me once, you know that I have a ton of energy. You might also know or sense that I spend a lot of that energy on helping others.

It would not surprise you then to learn that on November 15th, 2025, as dawn breaks over Staten Island’s Greenbelt, I plan to run 50-mile through New York City’s largest forest preserve to raise awareness and resources for the youth and families service by NYCID.

You read that right 50 miles, my good humans!

Those in my running circle know that I can really be fleet of foot when I put my mind to it. I have taken stabs at distances from the mile to the marathon but this represents uncharted territory. When I was in the Marines we did march around a lot and I once did a 40 mile march in full combat gear but that’s not this. This is something new and it is a metaphor for the work I help lead every day at NYCID.

So here I am, ready to be completely present in this challenge—not just the physical demand of 50 miles, but the deeper invitation to demonstrate the resilience principles that guide everything we do. To bring awareness to how vital it is to our city that we do all we can to help young people find their way through the tough stuff.

The Mission That Drives Me

For 55 years, NYCID has served as Staten Island’s bridge for those facing seemingly impossible challenges. Founded in 1970, New York Center for Interpersonal Development (NYCID) is a not-for-profit organization promoting the improvement of human relationships and the strengthening of communities. We provide youth, community, and professional development programs, as well as dispute resolution services that educate and inform the public about constructive problem-solving, effective communication, and intercultural awareness.

Since opening the Conflict Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) in 1982, NYCID has helped over countless residents resolve conflicts. We serve opportunity youth through dropout prevention programs, workforce development initiatives, innovative conflict resolution, crisis management, and restorative services. But what sets NYCID apart is how we approach this work—through mindfulness and wellbeing practices that help young people discover their own inner strength.

We don’t tell young people they can overcome their barriers, we teach them mindfulness techniques, emotional regulation, and resilience practices that help them see their own capacity for transformation. When a teenager who’s been written off by everyone else finally graduates, they’ve run their own ultra-marathon.

Most importantly, we help them understand that anything is possible when they focus on the things they can control. This fundamental truth shapes every interaction, every program, every moment of connection with the young people who walk through our doors believing they are beyond help.

So you might be asking why run, why now?

Well first, my running resume reads like a distance progression chart. At 42, I became the oldest champion in Forest Avenue Mile history, clocking 4:30.20. My marathon personal best of 2:42:00, achieved at the 2014 Boston Marathon, places me among Staten Island’s elite distance runners. But 50 miles? Okay man this is a whole other level. They say that at this distance the mind matters more than the legs, at this distance mental resilience becomes more crucial than physical fitness.

I’ve never attempted anything like this. But that’s exactly the point. This represents the same leap into the unknown that we ask our students to take every day at NYCID. We must know where we are going and where we are going right now—into the uncertainty that transforms us.

Mindfulness in Motion

Throughout NYCID’s programs, mindfulness isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a foundational practice. As someone who holds a Compassion Systems Masters Practitioner Certificate and led daily meditation sessions throughout the pandemic, I’ve integrated contemplative practices into our organization’s curriculum. Students learn to sit with discomfort, observe their thoughts without judgment, and find calm within chaos—the same skills that will carry me through 50 miles of forest trails.

A focused mind is a concentrated mind. A concentrated mind is a satisfied mind. This principle applies whether you’re facing mile 30 of an ultra-marathon or the seemingly impossible task of graduating high school when everyone has given up on you.

The parallels are striking. At mile 41, when my body wants to quit, I’ll have to find that space between stimulus and response where I stand in the center of my circle, where I have the freedom to choose my responses. I’ll breathe. I’ll observe the discomfort without being consumed by it. I’ll remember my “why.” These are the exact tools we teach our students when they’re facing their most difficult moments.

Our approach recognizes that NYCID continues to value the cultivation of positive, respectful human relationships and the strengthening of communities as fundamental to achieving a civil and just society. This philosophy extends beyond conflict resolution into youth development, where mindfulness practices help students navigate everything from academic challenges to family crises.

I am asking for your support in the challenge ahead.

The NYC Trail Mix 50-mile race winds through remote sections of Staten Island’s Greenbelt that most New Yorkers never see. Starting at 6 AM in pre-dawn darkness, me and a great many others will traverse technical singletrack trails, climb steep hills, and navigate historical sites within the nation’s largest city. It’s a journey from darkness to light—literally and metaphorically.

This race represents everything we teach at NYCID. You start in the dark, you face obstacles you can’t see coming, your mind tells you to quit, but you keep putting one foot in front of the other. You use your breath. You find your resilience. You discover that sunshine beaming from your pocket—that inner light that’s always available when everything feels impossible.

You discover you are not the drop in the ocean, but rather the ocean in the drop. You are vast. You contain multitudes. You have resources within that you’ve never even accessed.

The race’s 13-hour cutoff time means I’ll need to maintain a pace between 10-11 minutes per mile—sustainable for a marathoner, but over twice the distance I’ve ever attempted. The challenge isn’t just physical endurance; it’s mental fortitude over 9 hours of constant motion. It’s practicing what I teach: letting go is all we have to hold on to.

It is true that no one person is an island. My $50,000 fundraising goal serves dual purposes: supporting NYCID’s programs while raising awareness about our organization’s innovative approach to youth development. In a time when youth mental health challenges are at crisis levels, NYCID’s integration of mindfulness and wellbeing practices offers a proven alternative to traditional intervention models.

Too often, people see nonprofits as just solving problems and putting bandaids on gapping wounds. NYCID is about transformation. We’re teaching young people that they have the inner resources to overcome whatever they’re facing. This race is my way of demonstrating those same principles in action.

The campaign includes multiple ways for supporters to participate, from traditional per-mile pledges to an innovative time-prediction contest that adds community engagement to the individual challenge. As Executive Director, I regularly witness remarkable transformations. Students who arrived convinced they were failures graduate with dignity. Young adults who seemed destined for unemployment land careers that change their family trajectories. Teenagers who couldn’t sit still for five minutes discover they can meditate for twenty.

Every student who walks across our graduation stage has run their own ultra-marathon. They’ve gone a distance they never thought possible, through terrain they didn’t know they could navigate. They’ve discovered their own resilience.

The physical challenge of 50 miles mirrors the emotional and psychological journey that NYCID students undertake. Both require breaking the challenge into manageable segments, developing mental strategies for difficult moments, and maintaining forward progress even when the destination feels impossibly far away.

My Finish Line Vision

As I envision crossing the finish line after 10-11 hours of running, I see more than personal accomplishment. I see validation of the mindfulness principles NYCID teaches, proof that resilience can be cultivated, and evidence that seemingly impossible challenges become possible with the right mindset and community support.

Whether I finish in 9 hours or 12 hours, the real victory is in the attempt. It’s in showing our students that their Executive Director is willing to step into his own discomfort zone, to practice what we preach about not giving up when things get difficult.

The campaign continues through race day, but the deeper impact extends far beyond November 15th. Every conversation sparked, every dollar raised, and every mile completed amplifies NYCID’s message that resilience can be taught, practiced, and lived.

In a world that often writes off at-risk youth before they’ve had a chance to discover their potential, my 50-mile journey stands as a testament to NYCID’s core belief: everyone has the capacity to go further than they ever imagined possible. Sometimes they just need someone to show them how it’s done.

Sometimes they need someone to remind them: You Are Not Broken. You have everything you need within you. You just need to find the center of your circle and stand there long enough to choose your response.

May you live every day of your life—this principle guides both my preparation for 50 miles and NYCID’s approach to youth development. It’s about being fully present to whatever challenge stands before you, knowing that you contain the resources to meet it.

To support my 50-mile challenge for NYCID, visit bit.ly/NYCID-50Miles

Please follow my journey towards race day, November 15th, 2025.