Santa Pub Crawl - December 10th
-Raleigh, NC (Further Details Coming)
MJG Golf Fundraiser - September 18th
-Magnolia Greens in Wilmington, NC *Click Link above for more details
Mount Rainier - June
Archer Invesments Putt-Putt - May White Lake Half Ironman - May -9pm: Napper Tandys MATT ROHDEN - Double Ironman
*An Ironman consists of the following: 2.4 Mile Swim - 112 Mile Bike - 26.2 Mile Run..... What Matt did within 3 weeks is truly ridiculous and he raised over 10K doing it! Weather was extremely cold by Florida standards, temps in the 30s the morning of the race. Michael's brother Eric gave me some of Michael's ashes to bring with for each race, so after I crossed the swim start line, I spread some on the beach just before the start, said a prayer and was off. Swim was OK, bigger waves than 2008, however I still beat my previous two IM swim times, so I was pleased. Swim Time 1:13. Went through transition and had another collection of ashes with me which I carried the entire day. Bike was cold and windy, but I still went hard and had my fastest IM bike split. Bike Time 5:10. Weather was still cold, which was good for running. About mile 10, I came upon my close friend and long-time MJG supporter, Owen Calvert, who was having some bad stomach issues and generally a rough day. He was planning to drop out of the race. We ran together and I could tell he was down in the dumps, so I asked him to hold something for me, without telling him what it was, when he realized it was Michael's ashes he perked up and we ran together the rest of the day, finishing strong. I held Michael's ashes in my hand so they'd be visible as I crossed the finish line and in my finishing photo, along with Owen. We spread his ashes after that in the finishers chute and said another little prayer. I had my fastest marathon split, Time 4:30 and my fastest Ironman overall. Total Time 11:23. It was a great experience and Michael was with me the whole day. . After some divine intervention from Michael to actually get to Cozumel (a story for another time).... Ironman Cozumel - 11/28/10 Day started off well. Again, I took Michael's ashes with me to the swim start and spread them off of the pier, just before entering the water. The water was crystal clear, unreal. I could see the bottom the entire swim. I thought it was 5 to 10 feet deep the entire way, until I noticed the scuba divers on the bottom then I realized they were about 50 - 75 feet deep. Overall swim time 1:18, about where I thought I'd be. After transition, I was on the bike ahead of my Florida time... Bike course was amazing, it circled the island 3 times. The back side had unbelievable views of the ocean, and the waves crashing into the beach actually left mist on you. First lap of the bike was good, however on lap 2, about mile 40, I knew I was in for a long day. The winds picked up, coupled with the heat and humidity I started having stomach issues. I don't do well in humidity, and it was sticky. Side one of the bike was all head winds, the back side was heavy crosswinds (which were just a grind), side 3 was a tailwind, but it wasn't as much of a tail wind as I hoped for. The front side was the city side, so not as much wind. Course was completely flat. I think had I not done FL 3 weeks earlier I would have been OK and would have had the legs to push through, but I just didn't have that extra gear, so I slowed down and switched my nutrition from perpetuem to gatorade. That seemed to help until they ran out of gatorade on the course, I went to water and gel, which didn't help my stomach. My typical aid station visit included two waters, one to drink and one to pour all over myself to try and keep cool. Bike time 5:46, about 20 minutes slower than I expected. Run course was flat, 3 loops. Crowd support was great, bunch of people with drum sets, which I thought was cool, and lots of cheering in Spanish (Vamos, Venga, Aribe, Bueno....). Started the run and it was blazing hot. By the 1st turn around at mile 4.5, my stomach was on fire, it hurt to run. I basically walked from mile 4.5 to the halfway point. About mile 11-12, Sara Tussey (an MJG supporter racing with me), on her 3rd lap while I was on my 2nd, caught up to me and we walked together for a bit then tried running. We ran for what seemed like 5 miles, though it was probably 1/2 a mile to the next port a john. after that, I was able to run the rest of the way in. Run time, 5:30 (ugh). Total time, 12:50 (ugh). I was an hour + over my planned time. It was a tough day, I was disappointed in my time, but happy with the accomplishment. Again I held Michael's ashes in my hand as I crossed the finish line. I spread them out in the finishing chute, said a prayer and shed a few tears. Michael gave me the strength and determination to finish a difficult day. I truly appreciate everyone's encouragement and support during this challenging, yet rewarding experience. Thanks to everyone who has donated or plans to donate, The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke Medical Center has collected over $100,000 in donations from supporters of MJG, Thank You! A special thanks to Owen Calvert, Kurt Weide, Lance Leo, Ken Bush, David Matthews and Sara Tussey for training and racing with me while supporting team MJG and to my family while I disappeared every weekend for extended periods of time to train. A very special thanks to the Gressman Family for the example they set, all of their encouragement, guidance and support that they've given me. I feel honored to be a part of your clan! Thanks, Matt Rohden MJG BENEFIT CLIMB
2010
SANTA PUB CRAWL - December 11th (Raleigh, NC)
-10pm: Natty Greene's
-11pm: Trim
-12am: Noir
Ironman Florida - 11/6/10
From Jeff Moore (Raised over $30K before company matches!)
Greetings friends,
,
For the past three summers I have trained for and climbed a mountain to benefit "Big City Mountaineers" (a non profit organization that mentors at risk inner city teens). This past summer I climbed Mt. Rainier shortly after the unfortunate passing of our friend and colleague, Michael J. Gressman. As you know Michael courageously battled Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) which is the most common and most aggressive of the primary brain tumors. While I feel cheated that I did not know Michael as well as I would have liked, his story, the way he lived his life and his heroic battle have inspired me. Michael was attempting to be the first person to complete an Ironman Triathlon with a brain tumor. While Michael did not have the opportunity to finish this race, his family and friends have committed to continue his fight against this killer disease and to honor his spirit through remembrance and action.
While I was climbing Rainier last summer I though of Michael and his brother Eric quite often and was inspired to do something for them and brain cancer research. This summer I will be climbing a mountain to raise funds and awareness for the "Michael J. Gressman Brain Tumor Research Fund". Michael's brother and our colleague, Eric Gressman has giving me his blessings to do this climb in honor of Michael, I'm also hoping that Eric will be joining me. I would also like to invite those of you on this list to join me on this climb and raise funds/awareness. Those of you on this list have either already expressed interest in this particular climb or learning to mountaineer in general by making your first climb. No worries if you are not interested, I at least wanted to give you all first dibs. Archer Investment Management Putt-Putt Social (Special thanks to Matt Archer for organizing this event)
White Lake Half Ironman
2009
SANTA PUB CRAWLIN’ FOR CANCER
Ironman Louisville
36 North Triathlon: July 7th, 2009 (*Special thanks to Matt Rohden for organizing this effort)
White Lake Half Ironman
Indoor Duathlon
Western Reserve Racquet and Fitness Club
