Army captain races to $100,000 for wounded warriors - Off Duty, Sports, Hunting, Fishing - Air Force Times

Army captain races to $100,000 for wounded warriors

Most runners compete in the GORE-TEX TransRockies Run for the challenge, but Army Capt. Matt Cavanaugh and retired Ranger Capt. Paul Terranova ran to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, a program to help severely disabled veterans re-engage with life.

Cavanaugh and Terranova, who make up Team Nathan Hydration/Wounded Warrior Project, finished fourth in the open men’s category with a time of 17 hours, 43 minutes, 3 seconds for the 6-day, 115-mile stage race through the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

The 2010 GTTR marked Cavanaugh’s third time in the race and also saw him close in on his Wounded Warrior Project fundraising goal of $100,000. He has dipped into his savings to travel the country — mixing running with public speaking, telling groups about the plight of severely disabled veterans and the mission of Team Wounded Warrior.

“As of tonight, we have raised $92,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project,” Cavanaugh said at the final GTTR banquet. “Our final goal is in sight.”

Cavanaugh, the 2009 Association of the U.S. Army Male Athlete of the Year, is turning over the remaining fundraising efforts to Terranova, as he’s on his way to New Zealand for a new adventure — graduate school for strategic studies at Victoria University in Wellington.