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Army Lt. Col. Matt Cavanaugh (Ret.) is bringing awareness to kidney donation while running the 48th Marine Corp Marathon. He spoke with News4’s Jim Handly before Sunday’s race.

More than 8,500 runners came to Hartford to participate in the annual Eversource Hartford Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K. Each has their own reason for running. Matt Cavanaugh is raising awareness for a cause near to his heart: living kidney donation.

While serving in the U.S. Army in 2021, retired Lt. Col. Matt Cavanaugh donated a kidney to a stranger. “My life’s no different than it was before donating,” Cavanaugh said. Now Cavanaugh and a partner, Hilary Baude, are running 12 marathons across the U.S. to raise awareness about living kidney donation.

If you are looking for inspiration, sit for a moment with Wilson Du and listen to his story. It was 2016 and he was just 34-years old, working hard, and playing harder when his kidneys failed. This weekend, he will run the San Francisco Marathon 5K. 

WWE broadcaster Megan Morant donated one of her kidneys on July 14. Morant, who worked with the National Kidney Registry to find a match, said that all things considered, she felt good, and fortunate to be in the position to help save someone’s life

WWE on-air talent Megan Morant is donating a kidney to Margrette Mondillo, the wife of David Mondillo, who she worked with for the NFL’s New England Patriots. Morant and Mondillo are not a blood type match but they are able to participate in the National Kidney Registry’s joint donor program.

Matt Cavanaugh and Hilary Baude are running 12 marathons in a single year to raise awareness for living kidney donation. Both are donors. Both went through extraordinary experiences that led them to living donation. Read their stories.

This weekend, the Salt Lake City Marathon will form a 26.2-mile human wave of health, running right past thousands in the Salt Lake City area who are homebound in kidney failure. Several runners will demonstrate how those with the good fortune of good health can help others. I am one of those runners.

Steve Wilson may have only one kidney, but that hasn’t slowed him down. After donating one of his kidneys a little over two years ago, he was determined to prove that the procedure didn’t change his lifestyle—so he climbed to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

In 2013, Shawna Sampson donated a kidney to her cousin Sammi Olinger. Now, nearly a decade later, Sampson is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with fellow kidney donors this week, while Olinger continues to enjoy a second chance at life.