Pounding cancer into the pavement

University of Northern Iowa father Dave Martin has been running almost every day for 35 years, but the run he’s planning to make Friday is a little longer than usual. Martin will run 55 miles in one day from Linn County to the UNI-Dome to raise awareness for Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society’s trademark annual fundraising event.

Relay For Life organizes teams of eight to 15 people to raise money and take turns walking around a track for 12 hours for a common purpose of supporting the American Cancer Society’s fight to find a cure for cancer.

“Actions speak louder then words, people hear what you say but they see what you do,” said Martin.

The five-year Linn County Relay For Life Co-chair will dedicate his first 25 miles in celebration of the 25 year silver anniversary of the organization, and the remaining 30 ‘remember’ miles as his father passed away from cancer 30 years ago.

Martin is a long-time participant in the organization and joined a committee for the Linn County chapter six years ago.

“I got really involved and it became a really big part of my life. I think I spend more time with it then I do at my real job,” he chuckled.

Relay For Life of UNI 2008 participants may recognize Martin for his 50 mile, 250 lap run around the UNI track last year. After completing last year’s goal, he felt driven to run farther and fight harder against cancer.

Martin’s announcements of plans for a 55-mile run in the raw elements this year raised a few eyebrows.

“I first thought, ‘is he crazy? What if it’s raining or snowing?’ Then I remembered that it’s Dave Martin and he will do whatever it takes to encourage people to raise their awareness about cancer and to raise more money than ever before,” said Alissa Jewell, co-president of UNI Colleges Against Cancer and Relay For Life of UNI. “Who would have thought that a man over 50 could run 50 miles last year? Well he did, and this year he’s running more.”

“You can’t just do the same old little things to get people interested,” Martin said. “You’ve got to do something pretty unique and I think running from Linn County to the UNI-Dome, 55 miles is way out there. That’s not something everybody does everyday.”

“If I’m willing to spend the day running to the Dome, I’m hoping that’s going to fire a challenge,” he continued. “I want people to say ‘well if its that big of a deal to him, I should at least write one check’ or I can ask a few other people to do the same thing.”

His daughter, Relay For Life of UNI co-chair of advocacy and missions committee, Samantha Martin has also been actively involved in the organization for five years. Samantha plans to join her father for the final three miles and urges other students to join the cause.

“I’m inspired, I think it’s pretty amazing,” she said. “I hope other students think ‘wow, if an old man can go out and run 55 miles then I should be able to donate a couple dollars.”

In the past six years, Relay For Life of UNI has raised $380,000. While not all students are able to donate to the organization financially, they can support the cause by spreading the word and donating their time.

Martin faces the additional challenge of nature’s elements in Friday’s run. Last year in the UNI-Dome he had the luxury of getting anything he needed from a stationary location close to the track, as well as an accessible rest room nearby. Although he won’t have that advantage this year, the help of volunteers can keep him as comfortable as possible.

Martin has accredited part of his success in the past to staying hydrated and eating often during the run. In order to make this possible in a different terrain, the route has been split in half. Linn County is responsible for assisting the southern part of his run, while UNI will be the support crew from La Porte City to the Dome.

Every two to three miles a support team in the form of an aid station will be set up. Volunteers are needed to man the pit-stops along the running route. Any person willing to participate in the run is also invited to join Martin for any part of the route. The support from the UNI community played a crucial role in Martin’s achievement of his 50-mile goal last year.

“I ran at a very conservative pace because I did not want to ‘hit the wall’ at 30 miles or so and have to almost crawl for 20 miles,” he said. “All the Relay participants around and all those who joined me to run also helped a lot.”

Since 2007, Martin has successfully faced a total of five relays for the organization, however he has not yet faced a challenge of 55 miles.

“I don’t have cancer, but I could, so you know for me to go out and put myself through something for one day, well when I wake up the next day I don’t have cancer, a lot of people don’t have that and aren’t fortunate enough to say that.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a little imitating because that’s nothing something you can do and just say ‘oh no big deal’,” he continued. “It’s going to be a little tougher, but it’s going to happen rain or shine.”