Running 1,650 Miles for Charity - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

La Crosse, Wisconsin (WXOW) - A man who competed in the first Ironman Triathlon made a stop in La Crosse. He's running from New Orleans to International Falls, Canada. Tom Knoll is a 79-year-old retired Marine raising money for charities through his 1,650 mile journey across the country. The Sunshine Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Jimmy V Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Honolulu will benefit. Knoll chose those charities, because he says they cover all of the bases.

Today is his 38th day on the road. He thinks it will take another seven to get to Canada, at a pace of 32 miles per day.

"I do what they call LSD...Long Slow Distance. Its not speed, because you gotta get up every day and repeat it. On the first run 64 days 46 miles a day. So if you run fast, you'd only make it for a few days. But if you take it easy...you can do it."

Tom has now raised over one million dollars for charity and says that his reward is the hundreds of people he has helped in his lifetime.