By EMS1 Staff
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A firefighter will attempt a 24-hour treadmill challenge in full gear to raise money for St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital.
Daily Breeze reported that firefighter Jose Zambrano, 45, who works as a firefighter-EMT with the El Segundo Fire Department, will start his challenge at noon Dec. 19. He will run enough miles to equal four marathons.
“I feel being a firefighter, this will be a way to raise awareness,” Zambrano said. “Not to call attention to me, but call attention to the cause. I’m not a move star. I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a fireman.”
Zambrano plans to take five-minute breaks every 5 miles. For three weeks, he has been training by running on the treadmill for three or four hours, much of it late at night. He said he became motivated after seeing young children battling cancer when he toured St. Jude in Memphis earlier this month.
“The pain and the challenge is nothing compared to what I’ve seen the children go through,” he said.
#ElSegundo Firefighter Jose Zambrano runs #ChicagoMarathon in memory of fallen @ChicagoFire Christopher Wheatley. pic.twitter.com/ieP7K55IyO
— El Segundo Fire (@gundofire) October 28, 2015