Living kidney donors to tackle New York City Marathon

Living kidney donor athletes Matt Cavanaugh and Hilary Baude are getting ready to toe the line at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, in what will be their 10th marathon this year as they blast through the 1K12M challenge (one kidney, 12 marathons)–and with each step, they’ll be raising awareness for living organ donation.

1K12M is a full-year challenge sponsored by the National Kidney Registry, and Cavanaugh and Baude are running 12 marathons across the U.S. Both have donated kidneys to strangers and hope to inspire others to do the same. The runners (both of them experienced athletes and advocates), say they are thrilled to line up in New York on Sunday. Utah-based Cavanaugh is a former US military officer and president of the National Kidney Donor Organization. When he donated his kidney in 2021, he started a donation chain.

Baude, who lives in Connecticut, is an accomplished runner and triathlete–she participated in the Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2022 and became the first living donor in history to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, which she completed in October. She has completed more than 20 marathons, and Sunday’s race will be her third time in a row running NYC. The race has special significance for her, as her donation took place at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in May of 2021.

“The atmosphere is electric every step of the way, and I’m looking forward to being back with the cheering crowds in all five boroughs,” Baude said. Cavanaugh adds: “Boston may be older, but New York is the granddaddy of marathons. Fifty thousand runners and five boroughs make for one amazing race.”

Baude and Cavanaugh have run marathons in Atlanta, L.A., Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Hartford, and Washington, D.C., and plan to head to Philadelphia and Honolulu to wrap up the challenge.

“I’m really, really thrilled to get to that finish line at Central Park, which will make my 10th marathon of the year that much more special,” Cavanaugh said. “Even more important is knowing just how many people we can introduce to the idea that living kidney donors can save a life and go right back to running and whatever physical things they love to do.”

Canadian connection

Canadian ultrarunner Jeff Pelletier joined Cavanaugh in 2022 to run the Racing the Planet/4 Deserts event in Georgia (the former Soviet republic). Pelletier, an accomplished athlete who recently ran to second place at Moab 240, created a YouTube video following the race. After that aired, a Canadian woman who was inspired to donate reached out to Cavanaugh. “I feel like that’s a great little nugget that demonstrates the value of these races–when runners see other runners saving lives, they want to do it too,” he said.

Living organ donation

The National Kidney Registry is a non-profit organization in the U.S. whose mission is to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure. In Canada, you can check out the Kidney Foundation for more information and to become a living donor.