Five months to the day from his concert tour stop in Santa Rosa Thursday night, David Cook will attempt to run the Los Angeles Marathon.

He will do it to benefit the Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, Inc. (see the link at the bottom of this post where you can get information to join this ABC organization).

Remember, a marathon is a little over 26 miles.

Has Cook ever completed that distance?

“I have gotten up to 12 and that’s as far as I have gotten,” Cook admitted in a recent phone interview.

So, surely he loves to run … right?

“No, I hate running. I hate it. I can’t tell you how many hours or miles I have logged in preparing for this race but I hate every one of them.”

Well, at least he is honest about it, but that isn’t curtailing his enthusiasm.

“But, yes, I am still going to do the L.A. Marathon. It’s a challenge and a challenge that I am really looking forward to. After finishing this record (This Loud Morning), I thought I just needed a new challenge. I’ve done the 5K (3.1 miles) run in D.C. the last three years. That was a challenge in and of itself.

Does he listen to music in general while he runs and to his records in particular?

“No, I listen to a lot of comedy, I don’t listen to music. Music is such a massive part of my life and I like to run as a bit of an escape. And comedy really helps that cause then I’m not thinking about how much my legs are hurting.

“If I didn’t have the motivation factor of just wanting to do it I would have fallen off the wagon by now, but this is what I’m really excited about.

“The L.A. Marathon is a big event and to have the crowd there and being able to put this page together (see link below) to get people on board to donate to my charity which is ABC Squared it’s added incentive.

“You know I go to that 5K every year in D.C. and meet the survivors. It is awe-inspiring. I walk away from that every year with this new-found motivation to do something. I’m excited about this race. Now ask me at Mile 20 how excited I am …,” he added laughing.

“The good thing about being on the road is that I can run anywhere and having that different stimuli every day will keep me from getting bored doing my reps everyday.”

To help David’s cause go to:

http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamABC2LAMarathon2012/fundraiser/davidcook

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David Cook and Gavin DeGraw with Carolina Liar

8 p.m., Oct. 20

At Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Highway 101 at River Road, Santa Rosa
Tickets: $45 and $35.

Phone: 707-546-3600

Online: wellsfargocenterarts.org

 
TOUR DATES

Oct. 9 State College, Pa. – Penn State
Oct. 10 Columbus, Ohio – Newport Music Hall
Oct. 11 St. Louis, Mo. – The Pageant
Oct. 13 Tulsa, Okla. – Cain’s Ballroom
Oct. 15 Denver – Ogden Theatre
Oct. 17 Boise, Id. – Knitting Factory
Oct. 18 Seattle – Showbox Sodo
Oct. 20 Santa Rosa – Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
Oct. 21 Reno – Silver Legacy Resort Casino
Oct. 23 Phoenix – Arizona State Fair
Oct. 24 San Diego – Humphrey’s
Oct. 26 Pomona – The Fox Theatre
Oct. 29 Houston – Arena Theatre
Oct. 30 Austin, Texas – Austin City Limits Live
Nov. 1 Grand Prairie, Texas, – Verizon Theatre
Nov. 2 Memphis, Tenn. – Minglewood Hall
Nov. 4 Winston-Salem, N.C. – Wake Forest University
Nov. 5 York, Pa. – Penn State-York
Nov. 6 Cleveland – Playhouse Square Center
Nov. 7 Cincinnati – The Taft Theatre
Nov. 9 Greenville, S.C. – Peace Center
Nov. 10 Athens, Ga. – The Classic Center