2025 Team CKF Running Series

I am so excited to be fundraising for the Chris Klug Foundation this year as a part of running the 2025 Berlin Marathon!!

I little about me and my connection with CKF and organ donation:

I a living kidney donor; I altruistically donated my kidney to a stranger in November 2021. I grew up participating in a lot of sports but had zero interest in running until I began the process of donating her kidney, when I met and was inspired by her kidney donor mentors Steve Wilson and Hilary Baude (a former CKF NYC marathon runner). Seeing the athletic achievements they had accomplished post-donation further inspired me both on her donation journey, and also to pick up running as a way to show myself and the people around me what a person can be capable of with a single kidney. I started racing with the Boston Athletic Association 5k in 2023 and after proving to myself that I could, in fact, run, I started participating in more races and further distances. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to represent the National Kidney Registry in the Wild West Relay (on a team of all donors and recipients) and the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois in the Chicago Marathon, my first marathon, in 2024. 

Representing CKF in the 2025 Berlin Marathon is a dream opportunity for me, not only because the Berlin marathon is so iconic, but also because CKF has a lot of personal importance to me. I grew up in Aspen, Colorado attending Aspen high school in the early 2000s, where I had a close connection to the Klug family. I volunteered in some of CKF's first fundraising events after its founding. Chris's story was my first exposure to the impact of organ donation, and ended up shaping my values and planting the seeds for my own journey that eventually led to altruistic kidney donation years later, one of the most transformational experiences of my life. Being able to support CKF again, 20+ years later and in an entirely different context, feels like coming full circle, and I am so proud and honored to represent this fantastic organization in Berlin!

I would be so incredibly grateful if you would consider donating to my effort and to CKF, knowing your generous gift is going to incredible programs that help more and more people get a second chance at life through organ donation.

A little about about CKF and why it such an important, worth cause to donate to: 

CKF is a national 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.

So, why CKF? Although I am able to take on such a daunting physical (and mental!) task like running a marathon, there are still more than 104,000 people in the U.S. who cannot because they're awaiting a lifesaving transplant. 17 of these people die each day waiting for their transplant. And every 9 minutes, someone new is added to that waitlist. 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 running 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.