LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. – In less than a month, a former Navy SEAL and 11 other highly trained veterans will embark on a 220-mile endurance race across Sierra Nevada mountains, including the Tahoe Rim Trail loop to cultivate awareness around the daily number of veteran suicides.

“We need Americans to know the issues that we face if we’re going to be able to solve them,” race founder and former Navy SEAL, Liam Cogan says. That’s why you’ll see 22 as a repeating number throughout the race parameters.

The inaugural event begins Aug. 22, involving veterans racing 22 miles ten times over, with a 22-pound pack—symbolizing carrying the burden of those 22 veterans who commit suicide every single day.

But each racer won’t be doing it alone. Carrying the 22-pound pack will involve teams of four. “Because it takes a team to save a veteran’s life,” Cogan says.

Called the 20 Mountain 220, the 220 mile race will summit 20 mountain peaks, gaining over 30,000 feet of elevation. Two members from each team will race while the other two support with water, food and aid. All team members will finish the final leg together.

It’s projected to be one of America’s most difficult endurance races, but for the racers it’s much more.

“We’ve all lost brothers and sisters in the military community,” Cogan expressed.

The team members come from a variety of different backgrounds—SEALS, Marines, Navy sailors, and CIA. “The one common factor between us all?,” Cogan explains, “We want to end the needless deaths we continue to experience in our circles.”

The run is a two-part effort to increase awareness of the 22, and also raise money for veteran resources to directly combat those numbers.

All funds raised will go towards a nonprofit called 3Bravo, which Cogan formed based on his own struggles transitioning into civilian life in 2022.

“After leaving the military, like many before me, I wanted to set the standard for a smooth transition and prove everyone who told me military transition would be hard—wrong.”

However, the Navy SEAL team leader and explosive expert, known for his tenacity and capability, found navigating civilian waters difficult after nearly a decade in the Navy.

He joined a company after leaving the military, but that company thereafter folded. Events led him to work 16-hour days on a farm while doing college homework at night. He worked long days only to later find out that if he had just taken one extra in-person class at a local community college, he would have received a monthly housing allowance from the VA while using his GI Bill. This would have made his life much easier for him and his family.

“I was floored. No one had informed me, not the VA, not my Veteran Services Officer, not the school administration, not the campus veterans representative,” he said. “I was completely on my own.”

Also a master trainer while in the military with a passion for mentoring new members, Cogan carried this forward into his nonprofit with the goal of curbing these post service challenges for others.

3Bravo aims to make VA benefits more accessible and prevent veteran suicides with critical services like benefits navigation, mental health support, and transition guidance. The resource not only offers free videos, articles, and guides, but ensures veterans have someone to talk to with Veteran Impact Officers.

Cogan explains the officers save five veterans every month and guide them through a five-year transition. “We only hire veterans for the role because each vet needs someone they not only trust but truly relate to.”

Trust and relation will go a long way among team members in the upcoming multi-day race. Cogan describes training for the race as both difficult and simple.

“It’s simple because all you need to do is run, run, run!,” he expressed. “However, there is a lot I do to prevent injury.”

Training requires developing endurance not only in the lungs, but also the feet. Cogan runs each day for an hour or two, recording 4-17 miles a day depending on the terrain. That’s on top of a weekly extra challenging run, hiking with a 60-pound ruck, and half-hour to an hour of regular gym exercise throughout the week.

With all the training under their belts, the 12 take off Aug. 22 and intend to cross the finish line roughly 5-6 days later. Members of the SEAL Future Foundation Reno Chapter and the Reno Fire Department will be supporting the run with IVs, food, foot care, beds, emergency aid coordination, and other support.

A celebration will follow the accomplishment at McP’s Taphouse in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. on August 29. The ticketed fundraiser is open to the public and will host an evening of live music, silent and live auctions, and powerful testimonials with many of the racers speaking.

To learn more about the race, 3Bravo or to find tickets to the fundraiser, visit 3bravo.org/event/20-mountain-220.