Despite the death of his father Friday, Navy Petty Officer Michael McCastle is moving forward with his fundraiser Saturday for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“He’s the one who instilled that in me, to finish what I started, to never quit,” McCastle said. “This is what he would want me to do.”

Starting at about 6 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, McCastle will attempt to flip a 250-pound tire over a distance of 13 miles to raise awareness and money for WWP. He originally planned to traverse a route through Oak Harbor but has decided to simplify the event.

He will repeatedly span a paved 500-foot stretch of road behind CrossFit on Pioneer Way, just south of Smith Park.

To complete 13 miles, he must repeat the span 137 times.

People can come throughout the day, show their support and donate to Wounded Warriors if they wish, McCastle said.

McCastle said his father, Raymond McCastle, was a “fighter” who has battled multiple illnesses during his lifetime, including cancer and Parkinson’s. Raymond McCastle recently took a turn for the worse, however, and died Friday morning.

McCastle flew to see his father in Chicago Wednesday but was determined to return to Whidbey in time to complete his goal.

“I feel like he’s given me some strength,” McCastle said.

“I’ll finish it for him.”

Because of his service in the Navy, and his father’s 10 years in the Air Force, Michael McCastle said he is passionate about supporting Wounded Warriors and other veterans in need.

While the thrust of the event is to raise awareness, any money raised for Wounded Warriors will be donated in the name of a friend’s brother, Alvin Decker.

McCastle said Decker, an Army veteran, “lost a battle with his personal demons.”

“That’s what the program is set up to treat,” McCastle said.

After Saturday’s tire flip challenge is completed, McCastle said he will train exclusively for another Guinness pullup record attempt in the spring.

He was hospitalized in July after his first attempt. He completed 3,202 pullups in a 24-hour period, 828 shy of the record.

Nonetheless, he raised more than $10,000 for Wounded Warrior Project.

McCastle said his father taught him that “there’s no point in being strong if you don’t use it to give back.”

“I feel like this is the right thing to do,” McCastle said. “Everyone is destined to do something great. I feel like I’m destined to do this.”

Wounded Warrior Project is a veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

To donate to McCastle’s fundraiser, visit https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/mikemccastle