A few months ago, as I was pondering my 40th birthday this year, I decided I wanted to do something memorable – at least memorable for me. An idea popped into my head. I could walk 40 miles in one day and see how much money I could raise for charity!

I have always loved to walk. I’m guessing I get it from my dad. A few years ago, my wife Carol participated in the Avon 3-Day Walk. She and a few thousand other participants walked 20 miles a day for three days in support of the fight against breast cancer. I tagged along on a bunch of Carol’s training walks and realized that I got a kick out of walking in the city. It is such a different perspective than the normal way of seeing everything from a speeding car.

When we were doing these long walks, I often wondered how far I could walk. For me, it is painfully obvious that I can’t run very far. In fact, not very far at all! (This, in spite of the best efforts of my high school track coach, Mr. Simon.) But when I walk, my limits are less obvious. So one day, a couple of years ago, I decided on Wednesday to push those limits that Friday. I ended up walking from our house in Burbank down to the beach. It was a 33 mile walk and was quite tired at the end. Actually, I could barely walk. But I had a blast!

Now, I’m embarking on an even longer walk. I know there are a bunch of folks out there that do things that are more extreme than this. (I’m thinking of the ultra marathoners, the mountain climbers, the around the world sailors, etc.) For me, however, this is going to be a challenge.

I bet, though, that with a little bit of training, I can pull this thing off.