By Tomas Alonso
Arts & Culture Editor

Tim Cook, president of Clackamas Community College, plans to run 1500 miles over the span of 50 days this summer. He is doing this to raise awareness for broke, hungry community college students.

Cook has been a runner his entire life. His journey began on track at Oregon City High where he ran 100m 200m and the relay. At that time in his life, distance running seemed ridiculous.

But as Cook got older he began to see the beauty in long distance, including the extremely long.

“Probably 10, 15 years later I’m getting older and I think, maybe I should run a marathon, so I started training,” Cook said.

And he fell in love trying to run a marathon every three months or so.

After nearly 20 years, Cook has run over 40 marathons and is now taking on the motherlode of marathons – running 1,500 miles in one summer to raise awareness for broke, hungry community college students.

The run will take him through 17 campuses in 50 days if all things go as hoped, which equals nearly 32 miles a day or a marathon everyday plus a 5K.

But he won’t be alone; doing this non-stop is literally impossible.  He will only be stopping to sleep and eat in an RV filled with people who will follow him during his journey, staffed with his wife and some volunteers.

Cook poses for a photo on campus, Photo by Jackson Arterberry

While it’s hard to deny Cook’s preparation, the question has to be asked: is this possible? “I believe he can do it,” said Keoni McHone, track coach at CCC  “He has done training over the years that makes it a realistic, yet extremely challenging task.”

“The most important key will be to pace appropriately in order to stay healthy,” said McHone. “The second most important key to success are the recovery steps.  Those recovery steps could include enough sleep, massage, cold therapy, hydration/electrolyte repletion and caloric intake.”

Cook on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina during a Run 4 a Reason marathon and a half. Photo courtesy of Lori Hall

Another runner on campus, English instructor Jeff McAlpine, had the reaction most people do, even as someone who has ventured into the world of ultra marathons.

“What is it? 32 miles a day for 50 days or something? That sounds crazy,” said McAlpine “I’ve done a few 100-mile trail races in the mountains, which personally sounds a lot more fun than 32 miles a day on the roads. Good luck to Tim though.”

And when people who have run hundreds of miles before think it sounds crazy, it probably is.

So crazy, Cook has caught the attention of Nike, which has sponsored the event. The company has donated several pairs of shoes to Cook, who expects to burn through six or seven pairs. RiverMark Credit Union, who recently merged with Advantis, donated an unspecified amount.

“As of today (4/8), including pledged sponsorship dollars, the ROCCS campaign has raised $27,904. Most of that is currently designated to CCC, but we are just now starting to get donations in honor of the other colleges!” said Haley Stupasky, director of College Advancement at the CCC Foundation.

Cook poses with a coconut after a marathon on Aitutaki, Cook islands. Photo courtesy of Lori Hall

The expedition that will take Cook over three massive elevation changes and more than 1,500 miles in 50 days is not just about the thrill, he’s running for a cause: Oregon community college students, to be exact. He’s wanting to bring awareness to the challenges that so many of the state’s community college students face.

According to a #RealCollege study conducted in 2019 41% of Community college students were food insecure in the previous 30 days, 52% were housing insecure and 20% were homeless.

“Many students are making decisions, ‘Do I pay for gas? Do I pay for books? Do I pay for food?’” Cook said. “This is real, (we’re) helping people understand that.”

The goal is to raise more than $150,000 statewide, with all funds designated going directly to the student body of the donor’s choice of school.

Donors can make a tax-deductible donation to the college of their choice and learn more at Givecampus.com or on Instagram @run4orccstudents. Fans can also follow his journey on the site and jog a stretch alongside him.

The official route President Cook is taking including all seventeen community colleges, Photo courtesy of ROCCS