Never did Todd Dube think he’d be someone who would run a marathon. The counseling pastor at Cornerstone Church is about to prove himself wrong.

Although Dube has run his fair share of half-marathons and other races that were for charitable causes like the 500 Miles for Hunger and the 300 Miles for Freedom races, he wasn’t immediately aiming to run a marathon.

“I was always the one who said I was never gonna do that, ‘you go enjoy that, I’m good,’” he said. “It’s funny along those lines that comes back around. Never say never, and I end up doing it. So, I’ve had some good laughs with people about that.”

On Jan. 20, 2019, Dube will be heading down to Phoenix, Arizona for a marathon that will benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and help raise money for childhood cancer treatment and research. His goal was to raise $5,000 so that he could donate it to St. Jude’s. As of Thursday, Dube raised about $2,000.

Recently, volunteers came together at the Pizza Ranch in Austin to help raise funds for Dube’s efforts to donate to St. Jude’s Hospital.

Running with a purpose

While out on a run, Dube’s thoughts jumped to St. Jude’s and he thought running for the cause was well worth the training to finally try a marathon. He recalled the physical and mental toll on the body, and how “miserable” it was to attempt running 26.2 miles. However, what pushed him through the challenges were the children who were fighting against cancer.

“If these kids can go through the terrible time battling cancers, then I can challenge myself to run through 26.2 miles,” he said. “If they can fight cancer, then I can fight through 26.2 miles. So, that sparked the decision to start launching the marathon training and start to raise awareness for this amazing organization.”

Whether it was for high school track, hockey, football or just plain keeping in shape, Dube made the effort to keep his personal health and fitness at optimum levels. He had the personal trainer background and tried to vary his exercises throughout the week so that his fitness regimen didn’t become too routine.

Sometimes he’d push himself to run 22 miles, and then other days he’d focus on strength training, swimming or other methods to continue building his endurance and physical capacity.

“I have mixed emotions,” Dube said. “I’m really excited and nervous. As I was thinking about this through training, I pushed myself to run 22 miles. It’s rough on your body, so I try not to run longer than 20 miles and try to make it more manageable. I’ve had hopes in making the distance. …I’m trying to push through the pains for a cause that’s greater than my own benefit.”

For those contemplating whether to try running a marathon, Dube advised them that to never let doubt get in the way of their goals.

“Don’t doubt yourself,” he said. “Accept the challenges and look forward to them. It makes us better, and it helps people along the way. Push yourself and encourage other people to do the same. Don’t doubt your abilities and grab a hold of opportunities to improve yourself and encourage others in the same way.”

For those interested in donating to St. Jude’s, here’s what to do:

•Go to www.stjude.org/get-involved/fitness-fundraisers/run.html

•Click “Donate on Behalf of a Runner”

•Type in “Todd Dube”

Any questions, feel free to contact Dube at 612-267-5575