Image by James Mangini

Today, May 7, James Mangini is departing on a one-month 1,000-mile run to raise awareness and money for Parkinson's disease.

"I’m embarking on this challenge to honor the millions of people with Parkinson’s disease, including my father who was diagnosed several years ago", says Mangini. "My hopes are to inspire others to join the fight, and to present The Michael J. Fox Foundation with a check for $100,000 which will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, by The Brin-Wojcicki challenge."

Mangini continues to explain on his website: 

This is a high-risk journey considering I'm not an endurance athlete, and have never run more than six miles at one time. I'll also be running on main roads along side high speed vehicles, battling the elements, and working through a knee injury earned while serving in the United States Army. I'll have to average 35 miles per day to stay on schedule. If you do the math, that's almost 1.5 marathons a day for 30 days straight. No rest. No recovery time. This is an ultimate test of mental and physical toughness that I am ready for. 

I really want to make some noise about Parkinson’s. There is no cure yet. It’s a debilitating illness affecting millions of people. My team and I will be stopping in thirteen cities along the way to challenge every day heroes to take action. 

We'll follow along and be sure to update you when he reaches NYC — you can also follow along on the run's Facebook page.

You can donate to the cause on run's website.