100forChristy.org

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Christy Rolley was injured January 30, 2010 while sledding on the west side of Evansville, IN. Christy was with her four children, William, Ellen, Isaac, and Sam as well as with her sister, Cathy, and her two children, Jacob and Emma. In the late afternoon, Christy and her niece Emma struck a tree while sledding on an inner tube. While Emma was fortunately uninjured, Christy struck her head and back on the tree. She was transported to Deaconess Hospital where an MRI revealed Christy had fractured her T8 & T9 vertebrae and sustained a spinal cord injury. Tragically, this resulted in paralysis below her sternum.

Christy's accident hit Jay Donosky and the community of Evansville hard. Having known Christy for years, the news of her accident was very troubling. She and her family were often in his thoughts. After completing a 50 mile race in April, Jay had the idea to use long distance running to raise money for Christy and finally decided to go for it a month later. Surely if he is willing to run that distance there will be people willing to support this cause. Jay decided he would run this 100 for Christy.

The Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run, held August 21-22 in Leadville, Colorado, is a 50-mile out and back running race in the midst of the Colorado Rockies. Peaking at 12,600 feet in altitude, the "Race Across the Sky" traverses forest trails and mountain roads and entails roughly 15,000 feet of elevation gain over the duration of the race. Less than 50% of starters finish. This internationally acclaimed ultra-endurance contest makes all entrants realize "You're better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can!"