This August, I’ll be riding in the 2024 Leadville Trail 100 MTB race on behalf of the Chris Klug Foundation (CKF), a nonprofit that educates on the importance of organ, eye, & tissue donation! Not only will I be riding in their honor, but I will also be fundraising for their cause, in support of organ, eye & tissue donation.
Wisdom is teaching me that life really is a team sport. Right now, teaming with CKF and other CKF athletes for a race I love and a cause dear to me feels like a good fit. The Leadville Race Series started in 1983, the same year I was born. My dad, Mace, did his first LT100 run in 1988. My mom, Pam, received a liver transplant in 1990 when I was seven. Ten years later, after the meds and Hep C from the liver transplant took out her kidneys, she got a kidney from her brother, Brian, a LT100 run and bike finisher. That one worked great for about 15 years; in 2017 she received another kidney from her other brother, Eric, who has now finished 27 (I think) LT100 runs and at least one bike. Dad wanted to give back, so he donated a kidney in 2018 before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's later that year.
Organ donation is incredibly important to me, and I am honored to partner with my friends at CKF.
Just one person has the ability to save up to 8 lives as an organ donor and improve up to 75 lives through tissue and eye donation. But here’s a stark reality: although 96% of U.S. adults support the idea of organ donation, only 54% are actually registered as organ donors. That isn’t good enough. I’m riding in the hopes of eliminating the wait for a transplant. I know that’s a lofty goal, but if my riding helps just one person from having to wait, I believe it's worth it.
CKF is making huge strides to educate people of all ages, with the goal of registering more individuals as organ donors across the U.S., in the hopes of one day eliminating the wait for transplant nationwide. Please help me raise the very important funds they need to continue their lifesaving mission. The smallest amount helps and 100% of your donation is tax-deductible. Donations can be made via credit card or check.
