The Plan Changed. The Mission Didn’t.

Boston didn’t come calling.

I’ve had a little time to sit with that sentence, and I’m still disappointed. I believed there was a real possibility that Boston would become the next chapter of this journey. If I’m being completely honest, I hedged my bets emotionally and began looking down that road before I knew whether it was actually open.

That part is on me.

When the answer came, it hurt. There is no motivational quote that instantly changes that, and I don’t want Rebuild the Shield to become a place where disappointment is cleaned up and presented as something easier than it really is.

I needed a few days.

But after those reflective days, something became clear: Boston may have been one possible road, but it was never the entire mission.

Rebuild the Shield cannot depend on a particular race, invitation or outcome. If it did, then everything I have been trying to build would be resting on something that was out of my control.

The mission has always been bigger than that.

It is about being honest when life doesn’t go according to plan. It is about staying present for the people who matter. It is about taking care of ourselves physically and mentally, giving back where we can and creating a place where people don’t feel as though they have to carry every difficult thing alone.

None of that disappeared when the answer was no.

I also want to be clear about something as I’ve stated time and time again : I have a good life - I am blessed.

I am blessed with an incredible wife, a thriving and healthy son, family and friends I care deeply about and more reasons to be grateful than I could properly list. Being disappointed about one outcome doesn’t erase any of that. Two things can be true at the same time. I can appreciate everything I have and still acknowledge that this one hurt. Pretty deeply.

Rebuilding does not mean starting my life over. It means accepting what has changed, appreciating everything that remains and deciding what I’m going to do next.

So, after clearing my head, I refocused and began setting a new path.

I’m going to make this journey a priority. I’m going to keep working on my fitness, keep moving forward and keep building Rebuild the Shield one story, one video and one conversation at a time.

There may not be a marathon training plan writing the content for me every week—and honestly, that made me feel a little lost at first. But perhaps this is where the real work begins.

Now I have to pay attention.

I have to notice the stories happening around me. I have to listen to people who have carried their own dents, survived difficult changes or found a way forward after life knocked them off course. I have to create something meaningful without relying on a finish line to give it structure.

That may ultimately make Rebuild the Shield stronger.

The road ahead will still include movement, fitness, running, hiking and whatever challenges come next. It will include more voices than mine. It will include giving back, because that part of the mission is not finished—not by a long shot.

And while I’m not ready to say exactly what that next giving-back road will look like, let’s just say there may be a little more pink involved in 2027.

For now, I’m focused on finishing 2026 with purpose and building something honest, sustainable and worthwhile.

The plan changed.

The disappointment was real.

But the mission didn’t disappear.

So we adjust. We refocus. We keep moving forward.

And when the shield takes another hit, we pick it up anyway.

Giddy up.