By Corban Stanton
Contributor

Paddy Cook, left, takes a photo of friend Rachael Olm, Paddy’s husband Tim Cook and writer/runner Corban Stanton at the Culinary Institute on July 1. Photo by Chris Stanton

On a warm morning in Bend, three cars drove into the Central Oregon Community College parking lot. One carried a college president and his crew, another carried a curious journalist and one more carried a friend to support. Each had their own mission; to raise awareness, write an article and help a friend.

I had the pleasure of running with Clackamas Community College president Tim Cook on day 16 of his 50-day 1500 mile run.

Cook started his run to all 17 community colleges in Oregon on June 15, averaging 32 miles a day. Since that point, not a single day has been spent without him running at least 20 miles.

Hearing the numbers is one thing, but to truly grasp the feat of one 56-year-old man running 1,500 miles in one summer, a little context is needed.

In the first 16 days, Cook climbed more than the elevation equivalent of Mount Everest, and had already run the distance from Oregon City to Reno, which is more than he has ever done before in a concentrated period of time.

He and the CCC Foundation started ROCCS, which stands for Running for Oregon Community College Students, to bring awareness to the needs of community college students — like me — across the state.

This mission began at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, continued to Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton and then on to Central Oregon Community College in Bend, where I met up with him at COCC’s Culinary Institute.

We took a short video, downloaded the route that his support team had prepared, filled water bottles and set off to get out of Bend. While the day did get progressively hotter, it started at a pleasant 70 degrees. Unlike previous days, Cook got to run on shaded trails, away from the bustling highway.

We started off somewhat quickly considering more than a marathon was planned for the day, although I couldn’t be with him the whole run. Cook’s Achilles tendon had been bothering him, and made its presence known throughout the day, made more apparent by Cook’s need to ice.

About every five miles, his wife Paddy Cook and support staff Rachael Olm met us in their van, refilled our water bottles and pushed the calories. The long stretches between were just Tim and I chatting and enjoying the Oregon scenery.

Cook has a strong rotating support system. Paddy is staying with him the whole way, but the others filter through. They keep him hydrated, feed him, provide safety measures and offer moral support.

However, the team does not run with him. Only on rare occasions does he get a partner, like math department faculty Adam Hall who joined him for two days and 62 miles.

Undertaking this kind of a run comes with specialized meals, shoes and recovery plans. Throughout the day, Cook is constantly eating to ensure energy stores. The food varies between peanut butter pretzels, gummy bears and pickle juice, which runners use for sodium, electrolytes and to prevent cramps.

Stanton and Cook running on a shaded path. Photo by Paddy Cook

Whenever he stops for a meal, he ices his legs to prevent injury, and at night uses specialized Nike compression boots to take the sting out of his legs.

As far as shoes go, Cook wears Nike brand shoes, not carbon fiber super shoes; not very glamorous but they get the job done.

Despite the miles, light pain and fatigue, we talked for almost the entire run of 16 miles.  Over the four hours together getting to know Cook better was a wonder. We both find comfort in tea and cribbage, and the genuine conversations we had about the world really helped my outlook on life. It was evident that Cook has a background of psychology and has worked with students; he worked as a counselor at Clark College and Lewis & Clark College.

For many, a runner in discomfort would be worrisome, and that’s how I would have felt before I ran those 16 miles with Cook. My experience from running cross country and track hints that injuries usually get worse with use, not better. But to him, it’s part of what he signed up for.

“It’s hard, my feet hurt, I am tired of being in the sun all day, but overall it is going well,” he said. COCC in Bend marked the third stop on the run, and he was in good spirits.

Cook said he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. With grit and genuine love for students, he is pushing through at a very large scale.

Fortunately, Cook is no stranger to running at odd hours. He has run the Hood to Coast Relay 10 times, participated in the Cascades Relay and completed at least one marathon in 36 states.

Through his efforts, Cook has raised $65,714, which is 43% of his goal of $150,000, for the students who face housing and food insecurity, transportation issues and a lack of child care. He is not just doing this for his college, but for all community colleges in Oregon. Not only is he redefining his own limits, he is very apparently helping students.

For those that doubt the capability of humans, I would recommend running a couple miles with Cook.

To follow and support Cook, check out his blog or Instagram for daily updates. He is projected to finish in The Dalles in early August, and has many more miles to cover.

To donate, visit here.

Corban Stanton, left, and Tim Cook, take a break from their run at Benham Falls Bridge 15 miles in. Photo by Chris Stanton