RUNBORN 2026 – June 26-27

(Dedicated to all RUNBORN supporters)

I can’t believe it is 2026 and this is year 7 for RUNBORN. God has done amazing things with it and has blessed me with the ability to continue with another annual event. I am so thankful for all the people who have supported RUNBORN all these years. They are the real heart and soul of RUNBORN. Many have been supporting every year since year 1, and every year new people join in supporting. This year I am dedicating my effort to all the supporters through the years. They have been inspirational to me in so many different ways, especially through the stories that some of them have shared with me.

This year’s goal – 100 miles!

We will see how God works this out, and if he provides favorable weather, but this is the idea:

• Date: Friday/Saturday, June 26-27, 8pm-8pm
• Location: Pius X High School track
• Steve will attempt to complete laps around the track for 24 hours, starting at 8pm on Friday

Team Participation

• Steve is hoping to get 3-5 teams of 4-12 runners/walkers each to join in for the last 12 hours (Sat 8am-8pm)
• The challenge (for fun, and for additional motivation for Steve) is to see who can complete the most laps, Steve in 24 hours, or one of the teams in 12 hours
• But wait, there is another way to earn laps!!
• Teams will be indicated on the donation website
• Each team is challenged to encourage their families, friends, and social networks to make donations to RUNBORN 2026 and the donors can choose to “sponsor” their team on the donation website. As a goal, Steve challenges each team to raise at least $1,000 in donations from their “sponsor” donors.
• In addition to the actual laps completed, Steve and the teams receive 1 lap credit per $25 of donations they raise from their donation sponsors. The more sponsor support you get, the more laps you get!!

Individual Runners

• Individual runners are also welcome to join Steve on the track at any time and for any length of time.  They are also encouraged to have donors “support” them by writing in their name when making a donation.  They will be recognized for their running/walking support of RUNBORN 2026.

Please contact Steve ASAP via the “Contact” tab on the website (https://runborn.org/contact/ ) if you are forming a team, or if you are interested in being on a team.  Individual runners may just show up to participate.

All participants – team members or individuals – are encouraged to make a $25 participation donation on the donation website, but a donation is not required to participate.

Additional personal sharing from Steve:

This is an important and meaningful year for RUNBORN. God always seems to put things in place at the right time. God had a plan when he started preparing me for several years to conduct the first RUNBORN event in 2020. It timed out perfectly to help raise money for Women’s Care Center the exact year they started fundraising to open a location in Lincoln. My original inspiration that started me thinking about doing some type of fundraiser event was actually St. Gianna’s because I was familiar with them. But I also wanted to specifically and directly support the unborn. God used time to prepare me, and maybe even hold me back, until the time was right. That was 2020, year 1.

At that time I thought it was just going to be a “one and done” event. Little did I know God had other plans for me and RUNBORN. After the success of year 1, I was inspired to maybe try 3 years. Then it changed to 5 years. Now it is year 7 of RUNBORN. Coincidentally, or maybe God-incidently, the number 7 has always been my favorite number (sometimes I say my lucky number), and it is one of those meaningful numbers in Scripture, associated with being perfect or complete. So as it just happens, in year 7 of RUNBORN, the Women’s Care Center is fundraising to open a second location in Lincoln that will be situated closer to downtown and the University campus. What perfect timing for year 7 of RUNBORN! I guess God really did not want me to stop at year 1, or year 3, or year 5 for a reason. He knew there was a need to go to (at least) year 7.

Since it is such another important year for Women’s Care Center in Lincoln, my hope is this year will rival our year 1 fundraising success, which was the biggest year of all years. I think this is another reason God put into my mind to dedicate this year to all the supporters of RUNBORN, maybe to encourage more donations. God has equipped me to draw attention to the need, but no matter what crazy challenge or effort I try to achieve, the only real difference made in the lives of the women, children, and unborn, are the donations from the people who support RUNBORN. Each one of you are the people who deserve all the thanks and credit. I personally thank you for donating over $136,000 during the first 6 years of RUNBORN. That is incredible! I pray God blesses you 100 fold for your generosity and sacrifice! You are the spirit that has kept RUNBORN going for 7 years. Please invite people to support RUNBORN 2026.

I had a goal of completing 100 miles last year, but finished with less than 70 miles in the 24 hours. I am trying for 100 miles again this year. I am not sure I can do it because life seems to get in the way of my training, but that doesn’t mean I won’t put forth my best effort. I know God will be there with me, my “kids” will be with me (if you don’t know about my “kids”, read the “How We Began” story), and friends and family and supporters will be there to encourage me. And during the toughest times I will be focusing on the gratitude I have for all the supporters of RUNBORN, and for God calling me to being a part of this wonderful ministry and being generous to equip me for it.

I know this won’t be easy. In the end, it comes down to what God allows me to do. This sticks with me from last year:

All I can do is my best.

Once again God has reminded me that it is not about what I can accomplish,

it is about surrendering myself to Him, trusting Him,

and just letting Him work through me and use that however He can.

I hope to see people come join me, whether in the friendly team competition, to individually run or walk some laps alongside me, or just to cheer and encourage me to “keep going”. Anything you can do – prayers, stopping out to provide moral support, participation on the track, encouraging others to donate, or making a donation yourself – it all benefits the success of RUNBORN to support the women and children served by Women’s Care Center and St. Gianna’s.

On the road I been blessed with amazing support.

But it’s been hard for people to run with me.  So this year I will challenge other runners and teams to join me!