The Tribune
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. — In a fluorescent-lit room on the second floor of the Five Cities Fire Authority’s Arroyo Grande station, firefighter Christopher Martinez is running in full gear: helmet, protective coat and pants, and self-contained breathing apparatus.
By the time he’s gone 1.3 miles, Martinez has hit his stride, his Asics thwacking the treadmill’s soft surface, sweat trickling out of his helmet and down his back. On one hand, two wristbands read “Team Phinn” and “Team Mateo.”
“I didn’t know if I could keep this pace,” said Martinez, who set the treadmill at a 13:20 mile. “I felt warm about five minutes ago.”
Martinez is training to run the Surf City marathon — his first — in Huntington Beach on Feb. 1. He signed up about two months ago, after learning about two local boys with cancer, Phinneus “Phinn” McKenna and Mateo Cota, both of Arroyo Grande.
Martinez aims to raise $10,000, which he will donate entirely to the two boys and their families. So far, he’s almost halfway to that goal.
“Life has taught me that you’re not alone — to keep moving forward,” said Martinez, 39. “I wanted to do something to show them that they’re not alone. I’ll be right there, fighting for them.”
Phinn, 9, was diagnosed in January 2014 with level 4 primitive neuroectodermal tumors, cancerous tumors that can develop in or spread to the brain or spinal cord.
Mateo, 3, is undergoing a lengthy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was diagnosed in September 2013.
“They’re going through chemo, and that sucks,” Martinez said. “I wanted to put myself in an extreme situation to say I’m fighting but not giving up. I know I’ll have to dig deep sometime during the marathon.”
Running 26.2 miles while wearing full gear, including turnouts — the outer protective gear that firefighters wear — represents his values as a firefighter: service to the community, teamwork and never giving up, he said.
The gear weighs about 50 pounds. Martinez is also wearing the thermal liner in his turnout gear, which traps heat and makes him feel as though he’s inside a sauna.
Martinez completes his long runs when he’s home in Santa Barbara. He’ll run in his gear on a treadmill at a local gym early in the morning, or outside during the hottest part of the day wearing multiple layers to simulate wearing turnouts.
While at work in Arroyo Grande, he lifts weights about 4:30 a.m. and runs on a treadmill in the evenings. The longest he’s run in full gear is about 12 miles, Martinez said, though he said he’s run 26 miles without turnouts.
Mateo’s mom, Erika Cota, said she was speechless when Martinez contacted her and her husband to share his plan.
“It’s beyond beautiful,” she said. “I couldn’t even believe some complete stranger was going to put himself in full gear and run this marathon. How do you find someone who wants to do that? That’s just unreal.”
Both Erika Cota and Phinn’s mom, Jill McKenna, said they are nervous for Martinez. Both hope to travel to Huntington Beach with their families to cheer him on at the marathon.
“When I spoke to him on the phone, it was just like, I melted,” Jill McKenna said. “Here’s this person with this heart and compassion to do this for two boys he’s never even met. He’s not going to win; he’s just going to finish. And I think with all of us down there he’s going to do it.”
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