Back on the run

Ellen McCarty

Jaws dropped when Huntington Harbour resident Tom Jones ran 1,081 miles

down the coast of California last July, completing the equivalent of one

marathon every day, to raise money for abused children. Now, eyes are on

the local athlete again, as he aims to break a world record.

The athlete announced Oct. 20 that Logic Nutrition, an Irvine-based

company, has agreed to sponsor Jones’ run across the country in May 2000.

As if running 2,400 miles isn’t hard enough, Jones said he has upped the

feat a notch: this time, he will run 54 miles a day, more than twice the

26.2 miles in a marathon.

Jones is training for the big event. He says it’s a difficult effort, but

he’s determined to keep going no matter what.

The cross-country record, set 20 years ago, stands at 47 days, 8 hours

and 38 minutes. Jones hopes to do the run in 46 days and draw attention

to his favorite cause, needy children, along the way.

“You just have to believe that the cause is greater than the sacrifice,”

he said. “That’s my motivation. I believe that people out there do need

my help.”

Bitten by the Jones bug, the Huntington Beach Fire Department has decided

to launch a nationwide cause of its own -- collecting canned food for

homeless children and their families -- that will coincide with Jones’

run across America.

The details have yet to be ironed out, but firefighter John Legg said

that, by the time next May rolls around, the fire department hopes to

have a nationwide network of firefighters dedicated to children.

Local residents across the country will then be able to take donations to

fire departments, which will distribute the food.

Already, the station at Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway has

collected a couple tons of canned food. They invite local residents to

bring nonperishables to the station between now and May.

To make sure Jones doesn’t run himself into the ground, Logic Nutrition

has committed a team of nutritionists to his effort. They will drive

behind Jones and monitor his physical health, plus provide a diet

specifically engineered for his daily needs, said president and founder

Scott Magers.

That’s good news for his wife, Brandi, who sweated out Jones’ last run

down Pacific Coast Highway from the sidelines.

“I’m still very nervous,” she said, “but if anyone can make it, it’s

him.”

The exact route of the 2000 Logic Nutrition Coast to Coast Run 2000 is

still being planned, but Magers said it’s an exciting venture for his

company and the cause.

“Tom has proven that he can put his body through this type of stress,” he

said. “He’s as strong as an ox, and he’s going to take our products to

the limit. I’ve managed a couple of pro-athletes, but nobody doing this

extreme of an event. His commitment is unbelievable.”

***

The 37-year-old Jones said the only thing more difficult than running so

many miles a day to raise money for children’s charities is remembering

the sexual, physical and emotional abuse he endured as a child.

The Huntington Harbour personal trainer said he was abused by his father

until neighbors called the authorities, who took him to the Masonic Home

for Children in Covina when he was 8.

“Most people who have been abused don’t want to remember. They just put

it behind them,” he said. “I had to force myself to remember, to make

people understand.”

Spurred by growing anger and his sense of alienation, Jones said he

turned to violence to “blow off steam.” The only thing that kept him out

of prison, he said, was boxing.

A three-time national kick-boxing champion, Jones studied the sport in

Thailand for eight months in his 20s. He trained 12 hours a day in

grueling humidity and learned to put pain aside, he said.

“That made me believe I could endure the pain of the run,” he said.

Jones said it wasn’t the fighting, but an anger management class, that

finally taught him how to connect with other people.

“I was so grateful for the information because I realized that a lot of

anger is based on misunderstanding,” he said.