Dan Isaacson spends three to four and a half hours a day listening to the sound of his feet hitting the pavement – something that he is about to hear a lot more of. He plans to run 30 miles a day for 96 days, traversing 2,950 miles and traveling through 12 states on his trek from Portland to New York, N.Y.
The 26-year-old University alumnus will depart from the Portland Niketown on Wednesday for his cross-country Gemini Run, an endeavor of Project Starlight Foundation, which Isaacson founded after graduating with a degree in political science in 2005. The foundation was created to improve community goodwill by providing the guidance and encouragement that Isaacson believes his generation needs. Most people want to get involved and help others, but are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, he said.
“Rebuilding a great nation requires our generation to be great,” Isaacson said, adding that people have the means and the ability to accomplish this. “Our generation has no Great Depression.”
He hopes by setting the pace for his run, he will be setting the pace for society to do more, Isaacson said.
“This is the last time Dan and I have a beer and come up with an idea,” said David Klink, director of operations for the Gemini Run. “It shouldn’t be that hard to give.”
Klink said he and Isaacson were frustrated about how the Red Cross handled the situation in New Orleans, and he wanted to change the way people interact with charitable organizations.
With a goal of raising $2 million, Isaacson said the run will set an example for the nation’s youth that, however small one’s skills are, they can be directed toward doing something beneficial for one’s community.
“We believe the world can change,” Isaacson said. “Things are only impossible until they are not.”
Only 169 people have successfully run across the country, Isaacson said. Starting his training in September, Isaacson worked from running one to 20 miles and consuming 4,000 calories a day, a goal within reach because of his addiction to McDonald’s french fries, he said. Isaacson suffers from a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. The syndrome causes air to accumulate in his lungs, reducing their oxygen capacity to 70 percent. Because of his condition, Isaacson was never allowed to run on school teams.
Isaacson said he won’t be in danger as long as he doesn’t push himself to run too fast, and this condition can actually be beneficial because he has a larger heart than the average male of the same size. This allows more blood to be pumped with less effort, Isaacson said.
“The X factor in this thing is huge,” Isaacson said, adding that any mistake or injury could upset the entire project because 30 miles lost is not feasible to make up in a day. He said staying confident is a vital part of getting through it.
A 29-foot bus will follow Isaacson on his journey, and a team of five people will monitor potentially race-affecting factors such as his blood pressure and the weather, according to Project Starlight Foundation’s Web site. To discredit possible cheating claims, the team hopes to get a GPS tracking system on Isaacson, which will allow people to trace his route on the foundation’s Web site.
While the Gemini run is sponsored by the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Isaacson isn’t just running to run like Forrest Gump, although he will have a lot of thinking time, he said.
“It would be nice if the scenery would change,” said Isaacson, who watches a lot of Seinfeld episodes on his iPod while he runs. On his run, Isaacson said he will figure out what the foundation’s project will be for the following year.
“I know he can physically do it,” Klink said. “Mentally there is going to be some point in Wyoming where he says ‘what am I doing?’”
On his final day, Isaacson will run into Yankee Stadium during a baseball game to be greeted by a crowd of 50 to 60 thousand people, he said.
“The run is just one simple thing I have to do every day,” Isaacson said.