Dear Friends and Family,

I’m excited to announce that with the support of my amazing family I’ll be training for my second IRONMAN. I will be training to complete IRONMAN Chattanooga with Team Challenge on September 27^th in Chattanooga Tennessee. I am sure you're thinking, "Yeah, so what. Matt is running another race. He has done this before, should we be surprised?"

Maybe you’re not all that surprised but you may be surprised to know that this year my race will be dedicated to those who suffer with Chron’s disease or ulcerative colitis. I will be completing the 140.6 mile race to raise funds and awareness for research leading to a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Over the next 8 months I will be swimming, biking and running while raising funds to find a cure for this disease that has claimed over 1.4 million Americans.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are known together as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are painful, medically incurable illnesses that attack the digestive system. The cause of IBD remains unknown. However, the effectiveness of recently developed treatment methods and steady advances in research brings us closer every day to finding the cause and probable cure of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

My base goal is to raise over $5,000 for Team Challenge and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. I have a much larger stretch goal, we’ll talk more about that later.  Over 80% of every dollar I raise will directly fund the mission of CCFA, to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by inflammatory bowel diseases.

I have made a commitment to complete this journey in 2015 and bring us closer to providing hope, peace, and freedom to individuals battling IBD. I am hopeful you will join me in the fight against Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. You can help by visiting: http://online.ccfa.org/goto/IronMatt and donating generously to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Donations are tax deductible, and don’t forget to check to see if your company matches donations.

Along the way I plan to share stories of friends and family who have been impacted by Chron’s or ulcerative colitis. I’d love for you to share your story with me so that together we can raise awareness! 

Donate here: http://online.ccfa.org/goto/IronMatt