August 18, 2022 my father, Giovanni F. Mioli, passed away from total renal failure.  My father had chronic kidney disease for years. In 2019, his kidneys failed to the point of requiring dialysis.  He hated dialysis; his food choices were limited, his travel options were limited and his time was limited as 3 days a week he had to be hooked up to a machine that kept him alive by removing toxins and fluid from his system.  Regardless, he went in order to spend as many days with the family he loved.
 

In 2014 I started running races ranging from 5ks, 10ks, 15k, 12 mile, half marathons, 15 miles, 18 mile races as well as the NYC Marathon in 2018.  I thought training for those races was hard but what I realize now is that none of those races were nearly as hard as what my father experienced while undergoing dialysis.  As a result, I want to run the NYC Marathon in memory of my father via a charity bib raising funds for the National Kidney Foundation, which was the first to identify kidney disease as a distinct, treatable illness. They developed the staged system of kidney disease diagnosis and treatment – a worldwide standard today – and release and update treatment guidelines to improve patient care.