'Half-marathons are my sweet spot': Living kidney donor Christina Moore thrives on the run

In 2021, Christina Moore donated one of her kidneys then ran the Disney Princess half-marathon the following year.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 1:00 p.m. February 11, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Before Ormond Beach resident Christina Moore donated a kidney in 2021, she was asked what her “non-negotiable” was.

Moore told Orlando transplant surgeon Dr. Lawrence Thomas Chin that it was running — she had to be able to run after the surgery.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, Moore raced in the Clash Endurance half-marathon at the Daytona International Speedway. She finished with a time of 2:33:21 and placed 17th in the women’s 50-54 age group. The race drew a total of 624 half-marathon runners and 636 5K participants this year. Ninety-one runners entered from Ormond Beach, and thirty-eight from Palm Coast.

Her journey to becoming a kidney donor began in 2020, when Moore took on the role of director of assimilation at Tomoka Christian Church in Ormond Beach after working on staff for seven years. Her new position required her to manage the guest service and hospitality teams, making it essential for her to lead, train, and organize approximately 300 volunteers.

As she began to get to know the individuals who made up her first team, she learned that three of them needed kidney transplants.

“That made me curious about their situation, their needs, and how they live,” Moore said. “Through the process of getting to know them, one of them passed away because her health was failing fast. A second one got off the kidney transplant list through lifestyle changes, and then there’s Sarah Durst, who had tried many times to get a kidney donor and failed.”

That is when Durst taught Moore that becoming a living kidney donor is possible. A blood test is needed initially to determine blood type (O, A, B, or AB) compatibility with the recipient. Moore weighed her options. She knew her daughter, Megan Blair, was independent, and she and her husband, Jim, were empty-nesters.

“I have a job that’s understanding, and Jim, hopefully, would be understanding,” Moore said. “I didn’t tell anybody, not even my husband. I went to a lab and made an appointment. I thought I was taking a blood test, and they took 16 vials of blood, then shipped them off.”

Two months later, she received a letter in the mail. After overcoming her fears, Moore opened it and discovered she was a match for Durst. The two headed to the AdventHealth Medical Group Transplant at Orlando to meet with Chin and a team who helped them navigate the living organ donor process.

Moore was notified of her legal responsibilities, given a psychological evaluation, and catapulted into a year-long medical testing adventure. Toward the end of testing, Moore and Durst were called in to give blood samples. Moore was no longer a match.

Because she was so far into the organ donation process and a positive candidate, Moore said if she were willing to remain a donor, she would open up a chain, and there would be a match for her kidney. Durst would also remain at the top of the transplant list. If she said no, Durst would be put at the bottom of the list.

“So my yes stayed yes, and that opened a chain,” Moore said. “Sarah got her kidney a month before I donated mine, and then mine went in a little box on a plane to New Orleans. I don’t know who received my kidney, but eight people’s lives were saved because a chain opened up. We believe Sarah wouldn’t be alive today if I had said no. I did this because of the ability and God allowing me and my body to do this. I think it’s incredible what the body can do.”

The surgery happened in 2021 and within six months, she was up on her feet. 

But she struggled. She felt defeated mentally — her body forced her to walk. She went to see Chin for her six-month checkup and expressed frustration with her lack of progress.

“Dr. Chen told me I was perfectly healthy,” she said. “He said, ‘We invaded the space, we cut all the things, we had to reroute everything that went to the first kidney that we took, and then we closed you back up, and your body is like, you know, I wanted that.’ The messages to the brain are that we’re broken. He told me to be patient and give myself a year.”

In 2022, she ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon, her first major race after the surgery.

“I did well,” she said. “I didn’t do the speed that I did today in the Clash Endurance race, but it’s a special race to me. You get to run through the castle, it’s pretty, it’s fun, it’s whimsical — it’s Disney.”

Salty Souls is a running club Moore started with her friend Jeannie Gibb in Ormond Beach. Moore said she wanted to offer an activity that would increase mental stability and enhance physical health. They recently ran the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World, which includes four days of running events—a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon.

“There are a lot of ladies with just anxiety of life and raising kids in today’s world, and running has been very healthy for us,” Moore said. “It brings us all together. We live in a beautiful community. We live in such a place that why wouldn’t you go outside and stay active? You don’t even have to run. You can walk.”

Moore said even a 5K walk in your neighborhood stimulates the heart. Running a half-marathon or marathon is not necessary to become physically active and healthier overall. Elevated health also means improving your odds of becoming an organ donor. Even if being a living kidney donor is not possible, make sure you are marked as an organ donor on your driver’s license and donate blood.

“Anyone can do this,” she said. “You can donate a kidney and still thrive. I’m not going to qualify for Boston tomorrow, but I’m dedicated to the sport. I’m dedicated to the runner’s high. It’s a way of life, and it’s positivity. We need positive examples for our own mental clarity. I’m 50 years old, and I want to run until I’m 99.”

 

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