Paul Sparrow

In a word, my passion for health and fitness is fueled by “love”. I love my fiancé. I love my son. And because of them, I love my life. I want to live as long as possible and be as healthy as possible while I do it. I was fortunate to have the perfect role model for health and fitness in my dad, who we lost in 2024 to Parkinson’s. He was a runner and bought us our first weight set. At 16, I was hooked and have experienced the benefits of a fitness lifestyle in the 45 years since.

My favorite ways to stay fit are weightlifting and running. Two things keep me engaged, “community” and “competition”. I had two experiences in my late 40’s that changed my life. I summited Mount Kilimanjaro with my 14 year old son and I did my first obstacle course race. These experiences led me to communities with passions for hiking and competitive obstacle course racing. Within those communities I found friends to train with and keep me accountable for my goals, making fitness fun and social

If I were to win the $20,000 prize, I would likely use it to help my family pay off some debt. Times are hard for many of us and living expenses can quickly overwhelm us. I would love to provide some relief to those closest to me, and such a prize would help me do this. I would also donate a portion of the prize to Parkinson’s disease, which took my father, and Alzheimer’s which currently affects my mother.