Moe Chabuz, left, with Team River Runner members.
St. John runner Maurice “Moe” Chabuz has plenty of distance under his well-worn sneakers, but the eight miles he plans to run on Saturday, February 22, might be the most meaningful he has tread.
For the fifth year in a row, Chabuz plans to start the 8 Tuff Miles Road Race, which is being hosted for the 18th time on February 22, at the back of the pack and raise money along the way for Team River Runner’s St. John program.
Team River Runner is dedicated to offering health and healing for wounded veterans through adaptive kayak sports. The group was started by Washington D.C. area kayak enthusiast Joe Mornini at Walter Reed Army Medical Center more than a decade ago and today has chapters across the country engaging wounded veterans in meaningful camaraderie and physical stimulation.
The group has hosted an annual leadership skills trip to St. John for the past six years, bringing TRR participants recommended by their local chapters from across the country together for a week at Cinnamon Bay Campground.
Thanks to cash and in-kind donations, annual fundraisers like the St. John Chaotic Kayak Race in August and Chabuz’s 8 Tuff Miles effort, TRR’s St. John program has become self-sufficient.
In order to make sure it remains that way, Chabuz is accepting donations of any kind — a nickel, a dime, a dollar or more — for every person he passes on his way from the Cruz Bay start to the Coral Bay finish line. Chabuz usually passes around 700 runners and raises about $10,000 for TRR.
Make checks out to Team River Runner and drop them off at Skinny Legs in Coral Bay to make a donation.
Checks can also be mailed to Skinny Legs, P.O. Box 654, St. John, USVI, 00831.
Run, Moe, Run!
For more information about Team River Runner visit www.teameriverrunner.org. For more information about 8 Tuff Miles visit www.8tuffmiles.com.
