"YOU'VE EARNED IT."
The MarathonRings.com Story:
INSPIRED BY HIS LEGALLY-BLIND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, MARTY MATSOFF RUNS THE DISNEY MARATHON AND RAISES OVER $22,000 FOR PREVENT BLINDNESS AMERICA
On January 12,
2003, 56-year-old Marty Matsoff ran in the Walt Disney World Marathon (26.2
miles). Not only had Marty never run in a marathon before, but Marty had never
really run before.
It's amazing what personal motivation can do.
At the event held in Orlando, Florida, Marty raised $22,000 and led the country
in fundraising efforts for Prevent Blindness America, one of the charities
represented at the marathon. The cause is near and dear to Marty's heart.
Angie Matsoff, Marty's daughter-in-law, was diagnosed with macular degeneration
and declared legally blind when she was 17.
"She is a beautiful woman, both in appearance and attitude, " said Marty.
"Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has excelled personally, as a wife
and mother, and athletically, by competing in a number of Ironman Triathlons,
marathons and ultra-marathons."
Angie was the first-ever physically challenged female to
compete at the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii.
(The Ironman Triathlon is a 2.4 mile ocean swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a
26.2 mile marathon) Without her central vision, Angie relies on her
peripheral vision to run un-assisted in marathons, ultra-marathons, and even
some triathlons.
To
prepare for his marathon, Marty trained consistently for seven months, enduring
frigid cold training runs in Wisconsin (sometimes at 4:30 AM!). After over 600
training miles, Marty completed the marathon in 6 hours 32 minutes, just under
the 7 hour time limit for official marathon finishers.
Marty's son Chuck, Angie's husband and a personal trainer, agreed to help Marty
achieve his goal by training and running the marathon with him. With "IN IT TO
FINISH" as their motto, father and son crossed the line together. Angie had
finished over 2 hours ahead of them, had gone back to the hotel, showered, eaten
breakfast and still had time to greet them at the finish line!
Being
so proud of his accomplishment, and although he wanted to wear his medal
everyday, Marty decided on another way to celebrate his achievement - a marathon
ring. Unable to find one, he decided to design his own. A number of
people were asking him where they could get one for themselves, or a family
member that has finished a marathon, so Marty and his family came up with the
idea for MARATHONRINGS.COM. There are a variety of styles that help you (our
your special athlete) remember their 26.2 miles and, even more, the entire
journey that got them to the finish line.
Because this all began with Angie as the inspiration, we have decided to
donate a portion of all proceeds to Prevent Blindness America.
