Jessi is on a mission to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors! She has completed NYC, Berlin, Sydney, and Chicago.

Jessi has been a registered organ donor since her teens, is a member of the bone marrow and blood stem cell registry with NMDP, and one of her favorite things to do is to donate blood. She has also been the Executive Director of the Chris Klug Foundation since October 2022.

Organ donation is quite literally close to her heart as her father received a life-saving heart transplant in 2015. In addition to honoring donors and transplant recipients through her racing and work, she is here to represent the caregivers, too, including her mom, who are also heroes in the community.

In her free time, Jessi loves to spend time with her rescue kitty, Bergi. She also enjoys reading, comfort rewatching her favorites TV series and movies, most all things athletic, and traveling. She is a runner, biker, swimmer, skier, hiker, and racer (participant, not competitor).

This will be her third time as a member of the CKF Run Team!

Teagan is a living donor who donated her kidney to a stranger in 2021.

Post-donation, Teagan started running for three reasons. She was inspired by the donation process and seeing what her body was capable of. She also wanted to answer the question she kept getting of "can you live a normal life with one kidney?" And she wanted to raise money and awareness for organizations that are making a difference in improving outcomes for people with kidney disease.

Despite believing pre-donation that she would never be able to run any sort of race, she ran her first marathon in 2024, fundraising for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois. She also ran a 200-mile relay race that same year, on a team comprised entirely of kidney donors and recipients, to raise awareness about kidney donation.

In 2025, Teagan ran both the Berlin and New York marathons with the CKF team, excited to support an organization that she has a personal connection with. Having grown up in Aspen, CO, she followed Chris Klug's journey through organ transplantation while she lived there.

Running has always been more than a sport for Maria. It is a way to feel connected to the world and to people. Every marathon she has run for charity has given her a sense of purpose that goes far beyond crossing a finish line. It makes her feel alive and grateful.

That is exactly why she is running Cape Town with CKF. Maria has traveled a lot, and has experienced many different cultures, and one thing that always strikes her is how uneven access to healthcare still is around the world. This reality is something she is very sensitive to. The more she learns about it, the more she feels the need to do something meaningful, even if it is running a marathon and raising awareness while she runs.

Maria has completed 11 marathons, and each one has given her a deep sense of connection to the cause she is supporting. Running for something bigger than herself gives every mile a different weight. It turns effort into meaning. It reminds her that even a single person, a single runner, can help spread awareness, raise funds, and shine a light on an issue.

Cape Town is a race she has always dreamed about, and running it for a cause like CKF makes it even more special. Maria is proud to wear the CFK colors, and to represent the mission, and help bring awareness to it.

Regan started running after graduating from college, and ultimately ending her softball career.

Running is now a passion of hers - a bucket list goal to complete all the WMMs!

What better way to do that with the Chris Klug foundation and help contribute to this Foundation. :)

Reach out today to learn more about claiming this spot.