Tim Cook has a goal to run a marathon in every state, but last Saturday he took one for the team.

Cook, the 51-year-old president of Clackamas Community College, long ago checked the box of running a marathon in Oregon. But given the coronavirus outbreak and what his college students and community are facing, Cook decided to run a marathon-of-sorts on his campus.

“It was a marathon of one. I took first place and set a course record,” Cook said.

Cook ran 13½ laps around CCC to complete the approximate marathon distance of 26.2 miles. Each lap was meant to honor a specific group. As Cook started each lap, he held up a card about the group, and said a few words before heading off. In order, Cook said a few words about these groups:

Lap 1: Health care workers

Lap 2: First responders

Lap 3: Current CCC students

Lap 4: CCC Foundation and donors

Lap 5: College faculty

Lap 6: Cougie (the college mascot)

Lap 7: K-12 educators

Lap 8: Business partners

Lap 9: College staff

Lap 10: Parents homeschooling children

Lap 11: Everyone physically distancing

Lap 12: CCC Alumni

Lap 13: CCC Class of 2020

The idea to run a CCC marathon sprouted in recent weeks after marathons in Wisconsin and Michigan that Cook had planned to run were cancelled. For some time, Cook had been wanting to put together some type of running event around the campus as a focus on health. Cook and a few others tossed around the idea of the president running a marathon at CCC, at first as a fundraiser.

“But then we thought it would be a great way to say thanks to different groups,” Cook said.

Run on a rainy, cool day – “Perfect running weather,” Cook said – one thing he remembers most about the CCC marathon was running past Carl’s Jr. restaurant 13 times.

“I’m a big fan of their Beyond veggie burger. Every time I ran past I thought I’m going to get a big Coke and a veggie burger when I’m finished,” Cook said.

The last lap was most meaningful for Cook, as it honored the college’s 2020 graduating class, which will not have an on-campus celebration because of coronavirus restrictions.

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The race finish was oh-so-coronavirus, as Cougie took a roll of toilet paper and stretched it across the finish line for Cook to break. As any marathoner would do, Cook timed his run in 4 hours, 44 minutes.

Slow, he admits, but Cook says he’s long past running for time. Cook, who has run 33 career marathons, has run as fast as 3:37, but now settles for a four to four-and-a-half hour pace.

“Most of these marathons have cool things along the way, and I like to stop and take pictures. I don’t worry about time,” he said.

Cook is checking race calendars to see when he can get back his marathon goal. Knocking off South and North Dakota in August is a possibility, but more likely is an October marathon in Minneapolis, or November in Oklahoma.

Though the CCC marathon was unique, it’s by no means Cook’s most unusual. He once ran in the Dopey Challenge, a four-day event near Walt Disney World that consists of a 5K, 10K, half and full marathon runs. Cook also took part in the E.T. Full Moon Marathon in Rachel, Nev., which starts at midnight in the desert.

Cook hopes to continue an annual run around campus, though probably not at a marathon distance. He’d like to do something next year as a way to bring the college community together.

“I’m not going to lie. I really enjoyed it,” Cook said. “After being cooped up in the house, it was nice to get out. I was tired at the end, but I had a good time.”

--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel

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