Category: Boston

Win Skis & 2 Passes to Okemo Mountain!

On By eatplayrunkirbyIn Boston, Running, TrainingLeave a comment

I feel so fortunate to have received some very generous donations this year to support my fundraising efforts for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital!

10 more days to get your entries in to win 2 all day passes to Okemo Mountain for the 2017 season and a new pair of women’s skis! (For yourself, your family member, your friend or to trade in!) $10 per entry, which I’m collecting via Venmo/PayPal/Google Wallet. Drawing will be on Feb 1st. Please feel free to spread the word!  I’m happy to coordinate shipment of the skis if you’re not local, so please don’t let that stop you!

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If skiing isn’t your thing, you can always support my fundraising for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital as part of the 2017 Boston Marathon Race for Rehab team by donating at my crowdrise page :

crowdrise.com/spauldingrehabboston…/fundraiser/kirbymatthess

More about the Skis:

The new Salomon Quartz is a perfect ski for the advanced to expert skier that is looking for a ski that will make smooth and lively turns on the hard pack. Built with Salomon’s Light Density Wood Core with a single Ti Layer the Quartz give you a stable ski that will not be overly heavy, and still have a very quick and lively feel. The new All Terrain Rocker 2.0 has a little more Rocker in the tip to engage your turns quicker, and dampen out vibrations. Slight tail rocker has been added to release you out of your turns effortlessly. RKS (Rocker Stabilizer) makes the Quartz ski smoother without any extra tip wobble by adding a 3D layer of composite fiber in the contact zones, and improves your control. Salomon also has the X-Chassis that has extra reinforcement to give you more torsional stiffness for better edge hold in ice or firmer slopes. If you are looking for a ski that will crush it down the groomers with a light and lively feel that will be stable no matter how fast you ski, the Salomon Quartz will not disappoint you.

RKS (Rocker Stabilizer)
All Terrain Rocker 2.0
Light Density Wood Core
Single Ti Layer
Semi Sandwich Construction
X-Chassis

Vets Week & Paint Nite!

On By eatplayrunkirbyIn Boston, Marathon, Marathon Training, RunningLeave a comment

So my apologies for the lack of updates. Jan 9th-13th I was up at Mount Sunapee for my favorite week of the year, the New England Winter Sports Clinic for Veterans with Disabilities.  This year was particularly special as it was the 20th anniversary.  For me, it was my 12th clinic.  Here are some pics from this very special week!

Team Flags

 

 

One of my past patients, who is also a Veteran, and his first time on skis ever!

 

 

My Team’s Sign

 

 

Love my Eggs (Team Eggbeaters!)
Mountain View, one of my happy places!

 

So while the week didn’t lend itself to much running, it’s honestly one of the best weeks of my year and it’s an easy “sacrifice” of miles.  That said, upon getting home, I was hit HARD (as in over 5 days down for the count) with one of the worst colds in my life.  Horrible timing, as I had my Paint Nite event fundraiser at Muse Paint bar .  I got so much support for this, so I had to rally and it ended up being a really great time and over $300 raised for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital!

I’m happy to report, that I am FINALLY feeling better. Still some lingering congestion and a less than sexy cough, but it could be worse (oh don’t I know!)  Looking forward to getting in those miles.  Doesn’t hurt that I got this in the mail recently, as well!

As always, please consider donating here to support my efforts as part of the Race for Rehab team for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the 2017 Boston Marathon!

https://www.crowdrise.com/spauldingrehabboston17/fundraiser/kirbymatthess

Race for Rehab, Round 2!

On By eatplayrunkirbyIn #RaceForRehab, Boston, Marathon, Running3 Comments

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I am so excited to announce that I will be running the 2017 Boston Marathon as part of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s Race for Rehab Team!

If you are a long time follower of this blog, you know that back in 2014 I started this site as a way to chronicle my training for the 2014 Boston Marathon, my first marathon adventure, and I have not stopped running yet!  I have a ways to go to ramp back up to marathon level endurance, but I’m wicked excited!

There will be lots more to come regarding my training adventures and fundraising, so stay tuned!  To start, head over to my CrowdRise site to read a little more about why I am running.

This go around, I really want to highlight the work Spaulding does.  Those of you that know me well probably have a sense of what I do day in and day out, but many of you may not truly understand the work Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital does and the amazing stories of strength that abound.  I look forward to sharing some of these Stories of Strength from my past patients with you throughout my training.  My patients are truly an inspiration to me.  I have never known the will to overcome adversity and dig deep to channel an inner mental and physical resilience until I started working as a Case Manager at Spaulding.  I want you to donate to support me, but I want you to really understand what sort of impact your donation has on the individuals we work with every day.

So with all of this said, it’s time I reinvigorate my running selfies and weird antics while on my training runs , so get excited!  I thank you all in advance for your support!  Please share my links with your friends and family and check back frequently to join me on this journey over the next 5 months as we approach April 17, 2017 and the 2017 Boston Marathon!!