User:Alansohn/Dane Rauschenberg

Dane Rauschenberg (born 1976) is an American long-distance runner who ran 52 marathons, one every weekend, throughout 2006. He attempted to raise $52,000 for charity, as part of an effort he called "Fiddy2."

Background
Rauschenberg graduated from Penn State University and then attended law school, but does not practice as a lawyer.

As of 2007, Rauschenberg has started a new career as a race director in Utah and as a motivational speaker discussing his 52-marathon achievement and offering suggestions about running as an aspect of a healthy lifestyle.

Running
Rauschenberg first marathon was the Harrisburg Marathon in 2001, which he finished in a time of 4:12:07, 159th overall of 281 finishers. Rauschenberg next ran the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon in 3:31:13, in 685th place. Three weeks after the Marine Corps event, Rauschenberg ran another marathon in Maryland, dropping his personal best by 10 minutes. On January 9, 2005, Rauschenberg ran in the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in 3:09:55 in 154th place out of 7,365 finishers, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

On February 5-6 2005, he finished first in a field of 52 runners in the PT Cruiser Challenge, an event consisting of a 15k, 5k, and marathon within 24 hours in Tampa, Florida. He ran 84 miles at the Presque Isle Personal Endurance Classic (October 18, 2003), a non-competitive event in Erie, Pennsylvania in which participants traverse a one-mile loop for up to 12 hours.

Running 52 marathons in 2006
Rauschenberg decided to run a marathon each week throughout 2006, titling the 52-marathon effort "Fiddy2" in April 2005. While searching for events to fill his schedule, Rauschenberg found the Legg Mason First Light Marathon, which benefits L'Arche, part of a worldwide network of faith-based communities centered around people who have developmental disabilities. Rauschenberg aimed to raise $52,000 and selected the Mobile, Alabama chapter of L'Arche as the recipient of his effort.

Rauschenberg sought financial assistance for the project and obtained sponsorship in the form of race entry fee waivers, free meals from a local restaurant, free running shoes, and a free website. Despite many requests, Rauschenberg reports that he did not obtain monetary donations to offset Fiddy2's costs, and estimated that total travel expenses related to the effort would be $20,000. Rauschenberg sent out weekly press releases in an attempt to promote the fundraising effort, submitted blog postings, and sought speaking invitations. As a result, Rauschenberg was asked to speak at marathon events throughout the year and was featured as a runner on race's websites and "tell your story" blogs. Rauschenberg gained radio, television, and print coverage and he called attention to the fundraising marathon project with a website and blog.

The Fiddy2 project had to compete for public attention with similar efforts also conducted in 2006, where two people ran a marathon distance on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states, and a third person ran 51 marathons in the 50 different states and the District of Columbia. Late in the year, to preserve his streak of marathons, Rauschenberg organized the Drake Well Marathon on his hometown's high school track, as no other scheduled certified race existed on Christmas weekend at the time. The race was limited to 25 runners, with 21 runners from nine states participating, and was the penultimate event of his effort.

Rauschenberg ran his 52 consecutive weekly marathons in 2006 with an average time of 3:21:16. In recognition of his 52-marathon achievement, the 170-member Washington Running Club selected Rauschenberg as its co-Male Runner of the Year for 2006. He was named by the marathonguide.com website as one of the 20 outstanding USA marathon runners for 2006, as part of an effort to recognize those individuals whose participation in multiple marathons "show that marathoning is and can be part of one's regular routine." The 52nd and final race was run on December 30, 2006, with at least $43,000 raised towards that goal.