Hello friends,
I am running in the Wild West Relay on August 5-6th. This is a multi-day event where we run from Fort Collins, CO to Steamboat Springs, CO. It is ~200 miles on foot, with 2 mountain passes covering some 20,000+ feet in elevation change. We sleep in fields, we run through the night, we run through rain, hail, and wind. We have encountered bears, moose, and bighorn sheep and are hoping to see mountain lions and wolves (not really!) so we can complete our Colorado wild animal bingo card. Last year was especially fun running through smokey valleys because of our summer wildfires. So why would 12, otherwise sane people do such a thing? We do it because we are running to raise money for the Matthews House. The Matthews House is an organization that was founded in 2005 with the mission statement to help kids that were aging out of foster care. They have since expanded their services to help families with varying needs. They provide career services and help kids graduate high school, apply to college and get jobs. Through donations, they are able to provide no-cost after-school care so that parents can work. It allows kids to be kids and not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. We let the kids paint our race vans and they have a ball doing it (pics below!) They are a truly wonderful organization and we are excited to represent them for the fifth year in a row. As the pandemic winds down, we have decided to increase our fundraising efforts. The pandemic was hard on many families and it is no surprise that organizations like the Matthews House and the families they support were severely impacted.
Important note: All funds that are donated go directly to the Matthews House. No funds are used by the race team in any way. This does not pay for our race entry, this does not cover food, gas, equipment, etc. 100% of the donated money goes to the charity, which means that 100% of it gets spent within our community. No team member wins anything for raising the most funds. We are a self-supported team and donate to the charity as well. Many of us lose a day's wage or burn vacation days to participate in this event.
If you are interested in donating, the instructions are below. I have also included some other links about the race, organization, and my personal stuff. I included some pictures from years past and an elevation profile of one of the legs I run. The slogan for the race is "Get your ass over the pass." which refers to the two mountain passes we traverse. I have had the privilege of running up both Deadman's Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass in years past. It looks like I will have to run Deadman's Pass this year - thanks Sean! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. If you are interested, email me and I will figure out how to live track the event so you can track us on our adventure. I will be posting pictures as cell service allows.
Thank you for your time.
Donation instructions:
https://thematthewshouse.networkforgood.com/projects/156200-nutrien-runs-for-the-matthews-house-2022
Click the donate button
Put in your donation amount - $5 minimum
Hit the Donate Once button
Select my name, Luigi Aversano, from the drop-down menu and click continue to payment.
More information:
https://www.thematthewshouse.org
https://www.rltrelays.com/wild-west-relay
Social/other:
Personal email: luigiaversano@gmail.com
