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By
Gary Graves
USA TODAY
It's safe to assume nobody will break Jerry Dunn's un-official
world record of running 104 marathons in 1993, but he
wants to raise the bar
just in case someone is considering a challenge.
By the time the Spearfish, S.D., resident
competes in Sunday's San Diego Marathon, he will have
run the
26-mile, 385-yard distance 15 times this year. Dunn
has resolved to run the distance 200 times in 2000;
skeptics
are welcome to watch.
"It's a personal challenge I've taken
on and people will have to take my word for it,"
said Dunn, 53, who plans to promote fitness along the
way. "I've established this goal for myself because
I can do it"
Officially, Dunn will run one sanctioned
marathon each month, including the Boston and New York
City' events. But he will arrive at each venue on the
first of each month and run the course daily until race
day.
Dunn, a long-distance runner for 23 years,
says he ran the original New York City Marathon course
through Central Park 29 times in 1998 and the Boston
layout 26 times in '96.
Such a regimen exacts a physical toll,
but Dunn is able to return each dawn thanks to rest
and Endurox R4, a dietary supplement he says helps his
body recover quickly between runs.
Mostly, he's carried by his own drive.
Despite being shunned by The Guinness Book of
Records, Dunn
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Dunn:
Plans to run marathon
distance 200 times in 2000.
closed 1993 with 104 marathons when he set out to run
93. And while no one has dared to challenge the mark,
Dunn still felt driven enough to put it out of reach.
And, he has company. "I wasn't that
happy about it, but I'm not surprised,"
said Dunn's wife of five years, Elaine Doll-Dunn, 62.
"But I guess it's rubbed off. I'm going to try
and break the women's record (of 52) by running 62.
Are we made for each other? I'm afraid so."
Her husband is just out to show anything's
possible. "I will challenge people to do one marathon
in their lifetime. No matter who you are or what you
do, you can make the lifestyle change. And nobody can
take it away from you."
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