Task of a lifetime is drawing oh so near

grant dunning columnEDITOR’S NOTE: This is the latest entry in Grant Dunning’s training diary as he prepares to run in his first marathon -- the Orange County Marathon on Jan. 8 in Newport Beach.

Less than three weeks until the big day -- the Orange County Marathon. Fortunately, it is downhill from here until Jan. 8.

On Thursday, I completed 20 miles, which is the longest run of the Cal Coast Track Club’s marathon training program.

Between now and Jan. 8, the training runs decrease in distance to allow my body to rest and recover for race day.

Last week I tried to rally my group of close friends -- who have been training for the marathon -- to join me for the 20-mile run. Out of seven guys who started the training in August, I was only able to get one friend to commit to the 20-mile run.

Between bad knees and various illnesses, my friends are falling off the map. Although the group has been sporadic with the training schedule, the majority have committed to showing up on race day to hammer it out.

Considering that I will be pushing my daughter in her stroller for the entire 26.2 miles, my friends are confident that they will be able to keep pace despite their inconsistent training. The fact that I have not completed any long runs pushing Paige should prove to be interesting on race day. I have no idea how tough it is going to be to push more than 65 pounds for an entire marathon. I think my friends will do just fine keeping pace with us.

In addition to not knowing how well I will do pushing Paige, I don’t know how well she will fare being in the stroller for an extended period of time. I know she enjoys going on short runs, but she has never been in the stroller on a run for more than an hour. This whole event is going to be a trial experiment for both of us.

For the 20-mile run last week, I decided to run on the actual marathon course again. This time, I grabbed my neighbor -- who is participating in the race -- and we started at the six-mile mark. We completed the 20 miles ending at the finish line in the Irvine Spectrum. I am glad that I had the opportunity to run sections of the course. I believe that having an understanding of the actual route will make it easier to mentally manage during the race.

As the date of the marathon gets closer, I am excited to see more family, friends and associates committing to participating and volunteering at the event. I am also proud of the donations that we have received for United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County.

My daughter, Paige, and myself have committed to completing this marathon to raise both awareness and money for this great organization. In addition to UCP of Orange County, there are 10 other great children charities that will benefit from the proceeds of the Orange County Marathon.

If you want to make a difference in our community, I encourage you to support this special event.

To learn more about Grant and Paige’s training, you can visit www.teamdunning.com. To learn more about UCP and the OC Marathon, visit www.ucp-oc.org and www.ocmarathon.com.

20051220irrsr7ncDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Grant Dunning with his two daughters, Paige, center, and Brooke, before a run along the boardwalk at Balboa Beach.