The One Man Marathon

In November 2025, pancreatic cancer changed my family's life.

My father, Raúl Méndez Sr., was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was an endurance cyclist who never backed down from a challenge. He fought with everything he had for 9 months before passing away at age 73.

This run is for him and for the countless fathers, mothers, grandparents, spouses, and loved ones taken by one of the deadliest forms of cancer. 

My goal is simple: Raise funds, raise awareness and end pancreatic cancer forever.

Devoted husband to my mother for over 40 years.

Girl dad before girl dads existed.

Abi to his grand daughters.

Eternal student of the acoustic guitar.

When my father started going through the disease, I was traveling back and forth from New York to Puerto Rico. I started running to stay active, distract myself, and see if you could really outrun sadness.

After a 9-month battle he simply could not fight anymore and went to rest. But I kept on running. Instead of letting grief take over me completely, I decided to turn my loss into someone else's win.

I saw other people ran marathons and raised money. But qualifying into one of the greatest marathons in the world with zero running experience seemed unlikely and I tried applying for a team but never heard back. So here we are, an event that isn't an event, a marathon in New York that isn't thee marathon in New York.

I figured out that I don't need an event to raise money for pancreatic cancer or to run 26.2 miles in New York City. I like running by myself, I enjoy the alone time.

But it's also my own perfect version of a running event: no registration, no strict qualifying times, no other people.

When and where is the event?
October 3rd, somewhere in the streets of Manhattan. Still figuring out the route.

Where is the money going?
Every single cent goes directly to Project Purple which has a 96% rating on Charity Navigator. I am not accepting direct donations outside of the donation link. 

Is this official event?
Nothing about this is official. This is just one guy running a marathon's worth of running in New York City on a regular Saturday.  

Can I join you on your run or cheer you on along the way?
Technically you can, I'm just going on a run through the city. I'd much rather you donate to the cause or share with friends and family. But If you want to stand around with a sign cheering me on, go for it.

Have you done marathons before?
Never. I have never run a marathon before and this will likely be my first and last. 

Will you share updates?
I'll be posting all updates on Instagram including some training progress that I promise won't be boring, fundraising updates and general information about pancreatic cancer.

Will you give yourself a finisher medal?
Maybe. Probably.

What happens if you don't finish?
Nothing. The point of this was never the marathon, it's the money.

If you're a sponsor wanting to help me out, someone who wants to donate or just learn more about pancreatic cancer, I'll be posting as regularly as I can on Instagram:

@theonemanmarathon