Published: September 30, 2006 11:59 pm      

52 in 52 puts runner in Johnstown

Dane Rauschenberg must feel like Tom Hanks did when the actor ran across America in the movie “Forrest Gump.”

Rauschenberg will run in his 39th consecutive marathon in Johnstown on Sunday, moving inexorably toward his goal to run 52 marathons – one each week – in one year.

A native of Titusville, Crawford County, Rauschenberg has competed in marathons in 26 states across the U.S. this year to raise money for L’Arche Mobile, an organization that benefits physically and mentally-challenged individuals.

“I’d be lying if I said that it is not difficult,” Rauschenberg, 30, said Friday from his Arlington, Va. office. “What makes it more difficult is the travel. (But) I am averaging (a time of) 3:20 this year. So, I am hurting, but the most challenging thing is asking people to give money to L’Arche.”

Rauschenberg is a graduate of Penn State University and Dickinson School of Law. He was concerned that his record of 13 consecutive years of attending at least one Nittany Lion home football game would be broken by his quest for 52 marathons, but he planned to attend the Penn State-Northwestern game Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

One aspect of his quest is falling short: His goal of raising $52,000 in 52 weeks.

He said that he had raised just over $22,000 thus far, and he hopes for a strong push in the final three months of the year.

Donors can give money by going to Rauschenberg’s Web site, www.fiddy2.org.

Rauschenberg is planning the 51st marathon at Titusville High School on Dec. 23, a time when he could find none in the country because of the Christmas holidays.

“I ran competitively in just my junior and senior years,” Rauschenberg said. “I was only modestly good on a team that had a tremendous distance team."

L’Arche is a program founded in France in 1964. It attempts to take people from institutions and place them in homes in a way that provides a respectable life for them.