A MESSAGE FROM 26.2 Miles for Gio
Running the 2026 NYC Marathon for Gio
I’m honored to be running the 2026 New York City Marathon with Team Make-A-Wish in honor of my brother, Gio.
Grief is a strange thing to talk about. It’s something I often find myself avoiding, even though it has shaped so much of who I am.
My brother passed away right before I was born. Over the years I have lost other people close to me, but he is still always the first person I speak to in my prayers.
His last words were:
“Ámense y amen a Dios.”
“Love each other and love God.”
An eleven-year-old boy said those words to my parents as he was dying. I don’t think he could have imagined the impact they would have on the little sister he never met.
When family members, teachers, and close family friends talk about him, I feel like I know him. I grew up running around his cemetery, a place where most people cry, but for my family it has always been a place of love and connection.
How can someone I never met have such a profound impact on my life?
It was his last words that gave me my sense of purpose. They shaped my commitment to service and the work I do today.
My brother died from cancer, but his name continues to live on — through my cousin who was named after him, through the stories our family still tells, and through the way we try to live our lives with the love he left behind.
Before he passed, Make-A-Wish granted Gio a trip to Disney World.
Those photos from that trip are some of the only ones we have of him smiling during such a difficult time for my family.
That wish gave my family something incredibly important during a dark time: joy, memories, and a moment of peace.
Running this marathon is my way of honoring Gio’s life and helping create those same moments of joy for other children and families facing unimaginable circumstances.
Over the next several months I will be training for 26.2 miles while raising funds for Make-A-Wish to help grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
If you’re able to support, I would be deeply grateful.
Every donation, big or small, helps bring hope and happiness to children and families who need it most.
Thank you for helping me honor Gio and continue his legacy.
❤️
