But then Gunnery Sgt. Dennis Miranda, a northern York County resident and a supply chief at the 4th Marine Corps District in the New Cumberland Defense Distribution Center, isn't your ordinary runner.
On April 12, at age 36, Miranda tried, but failed, to finish the North Face Endurance Challenge in Bear Mountain, N.Y. That was a first.
Never mind that the race wasn't a 1-miler or a 5K or a 10K or even a marathon -- 26.2 miles. Maybe you could understand a guy being irritated at training long and hard and not being able to finish a race of those lengths.
But Bear Mountain was a 50-mile ultramarathon on steep terrain. It wasn't Miranda's first ultramarathon, but it was the only one he couldn't finish. And Miranda didn't like it at all.
"After a day of moping around, I told myself I needed to practice what I preach and find the next race," said Miranda, a recovering alcoholic who credits running for his turnaround.
So he started e-mailing friends who also ran ultramarathons -- typically a race that is longer than a marathon and up to about 100 miles. Sometimes longer.
Miranda, on active duty for 18 years, wasted no time looking for his next challenge.
And he found one -- he proposed running the Marine Corps Marathon in October and adding enough extra mileage to reach 233 miles. That's an ultramarathon times two. But, Miranda said, it had special significance in that it
A lofty goal to be sure. But one his family and friends quickly talked him out of. The distance was a little too long, they said. One running friend, former Sgt. Andrew Strohecker, said he'd run an ultra-ultramarathon with Miranda, but suggested 177.5 miles instead of 233.
Why 177.5? Well, you add 26.2 for the Marine Corps Marathon and tack on 151.3 more miles to come up with 177.5 -- the first two battalions of Marines were formed in 1775 at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.
So Miranda put together a team -- Esprit de Corps -- which includes Strohecker, with whom Miranda once worked in Pittsburgh, Sgt. Brandon Richardson and former Cpl. Joe Garcia, both veteran ultramarathoners.
All four runners have competed in marathons and ultramarathons before, but this will be the longest race any of them has run.
Within the last two weeks, a fifth member was added to the team -- Casey Owens, a disabled Marine from Texas who is a below-the-knee double amputee, the result of an explosion four years ago in Iraq. Owens will strap himself into a hand-cranked seated cycle and will wheel himself the entire distance alongside his teammates.
Inspired by the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, team Esprit de Corps wants to dedicate their run in support of wounded Marines who've served overseas. So they've turned the event into a fundraiser -- the goal is $25,000. They've already reached 18 percent of their goal, about $4,458.
On Oct. 22, the Tun Tavern Esprit De Corps Ultra will kick off at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Five days later, on Oct. 26, the ultramarathon (and then some) will end at the Iwo Jima Memorial -- Marine Corps Marathon finish line -- in Arlington, Va.
The run is divided into four 37.8-mile legs, plus the 26.2 mile marathon at the end. It'll be run over country roads and city streets in four states -- Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia -- plus Washington, D.C.
The Marine Semper Fi Fund assists families of wounded Marines with everything from travel expenses to child care to mortgage payments.
"We're excited about this challenge," Miranda said. "We don't want to let ourselves down, of course, so no one on our team gets left behind for any reason. And we are serious about helping injured Marines any way we can. So even though we've never done anything like this, we're excited about the opportunity. It's unknown territory for all of us."
One might think an ordinary runner who fails to make the distance in a difficult 100-mile ultramarathon might be inclined to look for a shorter race the next time out, not one nearly twice as long.
But like I said -- Miranda and his team are not ordinary runners.
Not by a long shot.
Anyone wanting to contribute to the fundraising effort should go to: www.active.com/donate/teamsemperfi08/TunTavern.
Sports columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch colum nist, run Thursdays. E- mail: lhicks@yorkdis patch.com.
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