PAGE X DECEMBER 2013

SUBMITTED BY: BRIAN CARNEYThe first time I heard of The Never Quit Challenge was a week before the event was to begin. Shawn Alladio, a friend of mine who organized the event, had posted about it on Facebook. I jokingly asked her if I could come, thinking it impossible so late in the planning. Five days later I found myself in Key West about to spend the next two weeks with people I had never met to ride jet skis 1600 miles.

NQC was a 1600 mile Personal Water Craft adventure, starting in Key West FL and ending in New York City on the anniversary of September 11th. The mission of NQC was a land and nautical centered fundraising event supporting American veterans and their families with community participation to benefit the three sponsoring charities; The Phoenix Patriot Foundation, The Boot Campaign, and The Station Foundation.

After two days of organizing, it was time to launch. All of this has a degree of difficulty added to it because we had riders who were paralyzed or missing limbs. Yeah, that’s right. Most able bodied people would never attempt something like this and they were about to do it with no legs. On the morning of September 6th we woke up at zero dark thirty and members of the Key West Police Department escorted us to the Marina.

DAY ONE we rode from Key West to Miami, a 164-mile first day. It was a long, draining ride, but the welcome from the people of Miami was amazing. The police drug boats and harbor patrols met us outside the harbor and escorted us into the city. It was nice to get into the calm harbor after being beaten up from the waves in the open ocean all day. We pulled into Rickenbacker Marina on Virginia Key at around 6pm and were greeted by Mayor Tomas Regalado and Gloria Estefan.

DAY TWO we stopped at The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. Several of the challenge members are SEALs and one is the sister of a fallen SEAL. At the museum the names of all the fallen UDT-SEALs are carved into black granite. We stood there and people reminisced about their friends and family who came to be honored at this place. We continued around the museum and talked about the different weapons. The Soviet ones always brought up stories of close calls in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The late nights and early morning starts takes its toll. Exhaustion and fatigue begin to wear on you and that’s when things get interesting.

DAY THREE I began on the Jet Ski in Jacksonville, FL and ended up in Wilmington, NC. Looking to my left and seeing land but not knowing what state it was without checking the GPS was an odd feeling. That day I spent over 14 hours and covered around 410 miles on a jet ski. We stopped only to refuel, and then quickly resumed.

As dusk started to settle we ran into problems. One of our riders managed to find a sand bar. He also happened to be paralyzed from the waist down, so another rider and I had to pull him off.

After dark all four of us found another sand bar…at about 45 mph. My ski turned out to be the most problematic. It took three of us to drag it out. Luckily the tide started coming in, which helped free the skis. We then headed over to the last ski on the bar. He also happened to be paralyzed. I managed to pull his ski the last seven feet to the pond, with the help of small waves coming over the sand bar, while he jokingly offered insight on the stars. After over an hour of pushing and pulling we freed the jet skis and were once again on our way.

Later that night I came off the ski pretty hard. The shadow casting across the waves was hard to read. I gave it gas when I should have been coming off and dug the nose into a wave at 40mph. Other than a blow to my ego I was okay. We finally made it to Wilmington late in the evening, pulled the skis out and went to sleep.

DAY FOUR - The next night we found ourselves in Virginia Beach. We had a fundraising party with pirate theme. It was very fun and really helped to

decompress. We had to make Atlantic City the next day.

DAY FIVE - As we rode North, Assateague Island was off to the West and you could see the herds of feral horses on the shore. The miles went by fairly quickly that day.

DAY SIX - The next morning we rode

from Atlantic City to Beach Haven NJ where we had a huge welcome from the locals. Coast Guard and rescue craft escorted us in. The Police, Fire Departments, and locals met us at the boat ramp with coffee and donuts. We had to pull the boats out and drive them North up to Newark. The arrival time in New York had been changed, so we had to make up time.

We put the skis back in and started to head for New York City. I had never been to New York before so coming into the harbor on September 11th after everything we had been through was a once in a lifetime experience.

It was inspiring to watch men, some who were paralyzed others who were amputees, endure something that most people would never attempt in their wildest dreams. The indomitable spirit of these young men is unexplainable to those who haven’t lived with such a rare breed. They live full lives and aren’t seeking pity.

We pulled in and our journey was over. It had been a long trial for all of us. We met with the media and then attended an after party. We stayed up most of the night and on September 12th at 6 AM I got on my flight to head home. I slept the entire way. I met people that I will never forget, including an ultra-endurance athlete with six world records to the veterans that have made such a lasting impact on my life. Sometimes big challenges in life seem like too much, but remember someone always has it harder, so what’s your excuse not to live?

Brian Carney grew up in Tualatin and graduated from Tualatin High School in 2007. He was on the Tualatin Football, Lacrosse

and Snowboard teams. After graduating Brian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served the next five years as a Reconnaissance Marine making his way to Sergeant and a Team Leader in Afghanistan. He moved back to Tualatin in August 2012, now working with his parents at Tualatin Auto Body as well as coaching Lacrosse at Tualatin High School.

From left to right, Sgt Brian Carney, PO1 Mike Spencer(USCG) Shawn Alladio PO1 Tony Souder.

Left to Right, Cpl Roberto Cruz and WO1 Anthony Radetic both of whom are paralyzed.

From left to right, PO1 Tony Souder LTJG Regina Feeks PO2 Bo Reichenbach.

The Never Quit Challenge

Mission Statement - Ride to honor those who were killed overseas as well as raising awareness of the wounded still recovering at home. Please remember those service members who are

overseas this holiday season and their family members who will be missing them.