GREEN BAY, Wis. — One marathon runner plans to use the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon to promote a mission he and his family are on to thank law enforcement for their service.
26.2 miles across Green Bay may seem daunting to some, but Nathaniel Carroll hasn't just been training for the run.
"I'm going to do 26.2 miles and 3,000 push-ups," said Carroll.
A small fraction of the 1 million push-ups he plans to complete this year, all to raise awareness of what he and his three kids are doing.
"We're thanking police officers all across the country. All 50 states and 3,142 counties," said Carroll.
They began thanking them at the beginning of this year.
Carroll said his sister and sister-in-law are both in law enforcement, and he sees the kind of dedication officers have to the community, so they show their appreciation, whether in person or by writing letters.
Carroll promotes their mission by doing push-ups.
"It breaks down to 115 every hour for 24 hours a day for 365 days straight, so it's a lot of push-ups," added Carroll.
He said he wakes up at 4:30 in the morning to begin the more than 2,000 push-ups he does throughout the day.
Saturday, he plans to surpass that 2,000 for mark for the day by doing 60 push-ups each half mile.
"I think it's going to be tough, but I don't think it's as tough as what the police do everyday facing potential dangerous situations," added Carroll.
He's also carrying the American flag, law enforcement flag, and a white flag with the names of officers thanked by the community and officers close to Carroll.
"I'll be carrying this flag the whole marathon and handing it off when i have to stop to do push-ups," said Carroll as he showed the flag.
He is aiming to inspire others to join the Carroll's on their mission.
"I really hope people look at this situation and say well if this guy can do 3 thousand push-ups and do 26.2 miles in one day, i think that i can reach out and thank a police officer in my community. That's really what it's all about," Said Carroll.
You can help Carroll and his family reach their goal of thanking officers in all 50 states by sending them an officer's name, department, and any special piece of information about the officer to include. He and his kids will mail a thank you letter to the officer based on your message.
You can send your message by emailing the Carrolls at thankinglawenforcement19@gmail.com
