50 Marathons, 50 States, One Goal
How far would you go help others? More than 13 hundred miles? That's what one Traverse City area man is doing. He's running 50 marathons in 50 states to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. In just a few weeks he will run one of the most elite races in the world, The Boston Marathon. And he's doing it all with a little help from his friends.
Marathon 4 Kids Founder Tony Anderson has some big ideas, whether he likes to admit it or not.
When I asked him "whose idea was this?" He replies with a slight reluctance, "mine."
The General Manager for Cherryland Electric has been mentoring young people with Big Brothers Big Sisters for years.
Anderson says, "I lost my father when I was young, before the age of two and I just want to give back to the people who helped me out along the way."
But he wanted to do more so he combined his love of writing and running in a project he called Marathon4Kids. The goal was to run 50 marathons in 50 states, share the stories online and raise money along the way.
He says, "I have a sense of purpose. I need to do the marathon training. It's not a chore. I enjoy running. I enjoy writing and I enjoy the results people getting behind it."
So far he's run 17 marathons, and raised $22,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Cecilia Chesney, the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Michigan says, "We are so blessed to have Tony Anderson. His passion for our organization is what drives us all."
Tony has some help reaching his goal.
He says, "I have three good guys to run with on a regular basis. They're all faster than I am. They're all better than I am."
"The Hammer", "The Dream", and "Special K" bring the experience of a former cross country coach and more than two dozen marathons. They are also the supporting characters in his on-line tales complete with well crafted nicknames.
Training partner Kevin "Special K" Krause says "I'm not sure where it completely came from, so I just smile when I hear it."
The guys also have run the Boston Marathon a combined 5 times.
Most runners have to meet strict speed requirements. But the prestigious event allows a limited number of runners for a charity. This year Tony will be one of them.
He says, "It was humbling. People have to qualify for Boston and now I am in that group. I feel like I qualified with my mouth and not my feet."
But his training partners see it differently.
Jim "The Hammer" Carpenter says, "I look at my running to go to Boston and it was all about me and I look at what Tony is doing and he's doing something difficult for someone totally other than himself."
While training partner Dean "The Dream" Bott says, "This is fantastic! I would trade places with tony if I could! That is phenomenal experience to run the Boston Marathon. It doesn't get any better than that for a runner. What he's doing is just incredible."
Anderson says, "It's another chapter in the whole book. 50 marathons for the kids. and it's a big chapter." It's important. We're raising some awareness and people are catching on. I feel we're on the edge of something big."
Now Tony wants your help. He is opening up Marathon 4 Kids to all runners of any distance, even walkers, to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. His goal is to get 300 people to raise $300 for the 300 kids the group helps. Click here for more details. He also told me that those who raise $300 will get a M4K shirt and those who raise $1,000 will get a M4K jacket.
While you are there you can also read about Tony's marathons, and get the inside story on his training partners' nicknames and follow M4K on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates. We'll also check back with Tony after April 18th for an update on his trip to the Boston Marathon.
