When Mike Sheehy celebrates his 38th birthday on June 2, no one will blame him if he passes on the cake and ice cream and instead chooses to take a nice long ice bath.
Sheehy, who lives in Carlsbad, will be right in the middle of trying to establish a new Guinness Book record by running 351 miles over seven consecutive days. And he's doing it all to raise money for charity.
"It's really to raise awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and raise funds for research for cancer," said Sheehy, the director of a medical device company in Temecula.
Sheehy's goal is to raise $30,000. As of Memorial Day weekend, he was at $20,449.44. Sheehy will start is his attempt on Sunday, and will run 50 miles a day, covering the distance in about four hours each day, starting at 6 a.m. and finishing at 8 p.m.
Sheehy said his main concerns are injury and fatigue.
"We're worried about fatigue, but also worried about injury, so the focus on recovery is going to be critical, especial through Days 4, 5 and 6," he said.
Sheehy plans to finish his record attempt at the finish line of the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon on June 6. He'll then stroll over to the Hilton Hotel on Mission Bay, where representatives from Guinness will be awaiting with hopes of certifying the new record.
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"We all figured that records were meant to be broken, so this record was meant to be broken, just like cancer was meant to be cured," said Sheehy. "And we'll find a cure for it. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but in the near future and that's the goal of this effort."
Sheehy is no stranger to long-distance running. He's an ultra-marathon runner and ran from San Diego to Phoenix in January to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can follow Mike's adventure and donate to the cause at his website.
