Steve Cannon loves to run. And he loves to help people who are fighting cancer or who have survived cancer.So it was natural for Cannon, 46, of Clive, Iowa, to combine the two.
On Sunday morning, on Chicago's Navy Pier, Cannon began what amounts to running 40 marathons - 26.2 miles per day - in 40 days around Lake Michigan.
He will head north from Chicago, run through the eastern part of Wisconsin, up and over Michigan's Upper Peninsula, down through the Lower Peninsula, through northern Indiana and back to Navy Pier, he hopes, by July 5. If he's successful, he will have completed a journey of 1, 037 miles.
Cannon hopes to raise $250,000 on behalf of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which serves people affected by cancer.
In a telephone interview in advance of his ultra-ultra marathon, Cannon addressed a most fundamental question: Are you in shape? "I sure the heck better be," Cannon said. "This is a culmination of a lot of fun and a lot of play and work my entire adult life. I've always wanted to see how far I can go. I've been training for the last five months with nothing else in my life other than that." For this journey, Cannon began running about 40 miles a week months ago and worked up to 100-mile weeks.
Cannon is no stranger to long runs. He has more than 30 marathons under his belt, and he has competed in many 24-hour adventure races.
He knows what to expect, especially on those exhausting hours when his body feels as if it's been beaten with baseball bats.
But Cannon is doing this for a higher purpose.
"My story isn't a lot different from other people's stories.
Cancer has become so common that it is almost accepted in our society," he said. "I don't think there's a person who doesn't know someone with cancer." Cannon lost his grandmother to cancer. An aunt died in her early 40s. One of his trail-running partners just told Cannon that he had lymphoma.
"I think it is incumbent upon us to help our fellow person in whatever way we can," he said. "If we have our health, then we can share that to benefit others. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a researcher.
But I do love to run." Cannon and his support team appear to be well-prepared.
They have a website where you can follow Cannon's run and find out where he is expected to be each day. In addition, a social media manager and videographer will accompany Cannon to provide information via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (@run cannonrun).
During his journey, Cannon said, he was encouraging people to join him, even if it is only for a mile or so.
"We really welcome people to come along at any time to run for anyone at any distance," he said. "This should be a big celebration of life and all of the people we love."
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