'Marathon John' Pawlowski Running For The Money
8/24/2007 4:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball coaches often refer to their season as a marathon not a sprint, and when College of Charleston's John Pawlowski says it, he knows what he's talking about.
To help raise money for the Cougars' baseball program, Pawlowski is looking for sponsors when he runs the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7.
"I felt like I really wanted to do more for the program because the program has done so much for us and our student-athletes," Pawlowski said.
Pawlowski has a goal of raising $10,000 and is accepting donations from anyone wishing to sponsor him at $1 or more per mile.
He hopes his fund-raiser, titled "Run Coach Run," will become an annual event.
"I'm more concerned about raising the money than running the race," he said. "I don't know if that's good or bad."
The race in Chicago will be the seventh marathon for Pawlowski, 43. He ran his first one on Kiawah Island in 2001.
"I've run a number of different types of events and I just progressed to marathons. I've always felt it was very relaxing and a great way to relieve stress. It is kind of refreshing to know that no matter how tough your day, you can kind of get away from it when you go for a run."
Pawlowski has finished every marathon he's entered, and has a personal best time of 3:30.
"I'm blue collar," he said. "I'm a grind-it-out runner. It's such a mental thing. The toughest part I think is when you get into like mile 17 or thereabouts. But I always find a way to finish."
By Charles Bennett of The Post and Courier
