Preparing for my climb up Mt. Rainier for Endure to Cure!

This Flag… It has been to so many places including, 4 of the 7 summits (Aconcagua, Mt. Vinson, Kilimanjaro, Kosciuszko). It was carried across the finish line at the Ultraman World Championship. In the Sahara Desert was carried in our founder’s backpack for 7 days as he ran through one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Fellow Team member Kendra Alvarez hung up this flag after running her very first 5k, and so many other Endure to Cure athletes have flown this flag after they redefined and pushed their limits in order to fight pediatric cancer.

I first saw this flag in photos taken all over the world, on Aconcagua, at various Ironman finish lines, and so many other amazing places.  I figured this out when I flew down to Texas to crew Jason Sissel’s 24hr cycling time trial. Before the race he handed me the flag and asked me to hang this flag somewhere so people can see it and learn about our cause. It wasn’t until I held it that I realized it was this one flag that had been in all of the pictures I had seen.  It feels beaten and coarse and now has sand and dirt caked to it from the vast dunes of the Sahara and mountains. I couldn’t wait for my chance to take the flag to one of my events and sport it proudly to mark my own achievement and triumph.

Now it’s my turn.  Beginning on August 21st, I will be climbing Mount Rainier, in an effort to raise funds for a pediatric cancer survivorship study at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. (If you are interested in contributing to my effort for this mission, please click here.)  To say I am excited would be an understatement. I am thrilled to have this opportunity and so happy to be apart of such a wonderful group of inspiring people Mount Rainier has always been a goal of mine since I discovered my love for mountaineering.   Here I am—less than 2 weeks away from my goal—knowing that I will fight for the cause, and I will get to carry this flag to the summit of Mount Rainier.

The Team Endure to Cure members around the world have taught me a powerful lesson: when a person has a higher purpose and contributes to a cause greater than ourselves we can achieve anything you put heart and soul into and can make a difference for others along the way.

I am honored to take this flag with me on my journey.  And we would be honored to have you join our cause and carry it on your journey.  Learn more about our team by clicking here.

Thank you for your support and inspiration!

Todd Asher Bergstein