Running For A Cause: NYC Marathoner Raises Money For Spinal Cord Injury, Advocacy

PLAINVIEW, NY — Friendship and advocacy motivated 26-year-old Matthew Salkin to run the NYC Marathon this past weekend, honoring his lifelong friend, Rebecca Koltun.

Salkin ran the 26.2 miles on Team Reeve, doing his part to raise money for spinal cord injury research with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and to honor his friend.

He said he cares deeply about the foundation since Koltun has been impacted by a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia, and running in the marathon was incredibly meaningful.

"To have the ability to do this and run for her and other people has made it so much more," he said.

Their friendship began in kindergarten, and now their families even get together at times for "Family Fun Days."

"When we were little kids, my parents would drop me and my sister off at Rebecca's house and we'd all play Club Penguin and hang out," he said. "We went to summer camp together and lifeguarded together. We have all of these shared experiences together that nobody else has, like all of our shared inside jokes."

He said he remembers the day Rebecca had her ski accident, and how strong she is.

"She is resilient and hilarious," he said. "She won class clown in middle school. She doesn't want empathy or sympathy. It's truly amazing what she's taken from this. She's the busiest person I know. She's so inspiring."

Salkin said there was a luncheon with Team Reeve, and Koltun attended as well. They met other people on the team, many of whom were supporting loved ones with paralysis.

"It meant so much to do this for her," Salkin said. "During the training and the race, I was so motivated by who I was helping. Doing it for Rebecca was seriously my motivation. My personal goal was to run a marathon, but it meant so much more."

His team raised more than $700,000 and counting. He gave credit to the foundation and all who put in the hard work to raise money.

"Kelly Lamb and Dana Schulman were truly amazing," he said. "It's an amazing foundation. I want to try and stay involved."

Salkin said he always struggled with sports and never considered himself an athlete before training began.

"I was training a lot — 18 weeks," he said. "My longest run before this was 20.75 miles. I was always the last pick. It felt good to put my mind to something and achieve it."

Salkin said he had family members on the sidelines, along with Rebecca and some of her family members, all cheering him on.

"She was even there supporting me," he said.

He said the overall marathon was an incredible event and accomplishment, especially seeing his friends and family on the sidelines, and seeing everyone competing, including hand cyclists.

"This was an amazing day in New York City," he continued, "but so much more meaningful that I was able to do it for Rebecca and people like her."