Runner raises $1,200 for CCHS

home : sports : sports	July 31, 2010

8/20/2008 4:55:00 PM

Email this article • Print this article

Ultra-distance marathoner Matt Halk and his crew chief, Whitney Born, right, a Chaffee County High School student, are pictured at the May Queen Aid Station at 6:10 a.m. after he completed 13.5 miles of the Leadville Trail 100 August 16 and 17. He finished the race in 28 hours and 7 minutes. Born was assisting Halk in the run for part of her Service Learning Project, one of her graduation requirements. Halk was raising funds for CCHS. Courtesy photo

Runner raises $1,200 for CCHS

Kathy Davis
Times Reporter

Buena Vistan Matt Halk completed 300 miles in four races as an ultra-distance runner raising $1,200 in pledge donations for Chaffee County High School over the summer of 2008.

Finishing time for the "Race Across the Sky" in Leadville on Aug. 16 and 17 was 28 hours and 7 minutes, for his final marathon of this season.

Halk, who is the head roaster at Bongo Billy's and works at the Coyote Cantina, formerly worked at CCHS as a para-professional. He said the great outdoors makes a perfect alternative classroom and is the natural extension of CCHS's four part teaching focus: English, Science, Social Studies and Life Skills.

He wanted to raise money for the CCHS outdoor education program, where lessons "come alive," he said.

Halk called his ultra-marathon season, "Run for the Money." The money raised will be used to purchase summer and winter outdoor gear such as sleeping pads and camping stoves.

Some may be used for funding trips such as the Crow Canyon trip made possible in part by the generosity of the Buena Vista Optimist Club, Halk said. "For most students this marks the pinnacle of an experience of discovering success which they may not have known previously or otherwise," he said.

Halk said sponsors paying per mile were The Trailhead, Colorado East Bank & Trust, Serendipity Yarn & Gifts, Salida Mountain Sports, Collegiate Peaks Bank, The Evergreen Café, Premier Home Care and South Main. Pledged contributions totaled $1,200.

The four runs he completed were Collegiate Peaks 50 mile trail run in May in Buena Vista, the Bighorn 100 mile trail run in Dayton, Wyo., in June, the Silver Rush 50 mile trail run in Leadville in July and Leadville 100 mile "Race Across the Sky" trail run.

Article Comment Submission Form

Please feel free to submit your comments.

Article comments may appear as letters to the editor in the print edition of The Chaffee County Times and may be posted in the Letters section of the Web site. Please include your full address and telephone number in case we need to contact you. Only the name and town will be published.

Name:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Passcode:

This form will not send your comment unless you copy exactly the passcode seen below into the text field. This is an anti-spam device to help reduce the automated email spam coming through this form.

Please copy the passcode exactly
- it is case sensitive.

Message:

The Web Site contains material which is protected by international Copyright and trademark laws. No material may be copied, reproduced, republished, broadcast or distributed in any way or decompiled, except that you may download one copy of the Materials on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial home use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. On-line publication, Copyright 2007, The Chaffee County Times. This site is updated every Thursday. 209 E. Main St., Buena Vista, Colorado. Phone 719-395-8621
Software © 1998-2010 1up! Software, All Rights Reserved