'Jacks running underwater marathon

While they prepare for the 2012-13 USHL regular season, the Muskegon Lumberjacks will donate their time and effort to help some of our country’s MVPs.

With the assistance of Mercy Athletic Performance, the Lumberjacks will take part in the first-ever HydroWorx Underwater Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 9. Funds raised by the event will go directly to the Eagle Fund, which helps wounded special forces soldiers get the treatment they need to properly rehabilitate.

Lumberjacks players, coaches and staff members will combine to complete a full 26.2-mile marathon on a HydroWorx underwater treadmill at the Mercy Campus in Muskegon. The runners will be linked via video to Hershey, Pa., where the majority of the charity event will be held.

The Jacks will be running in the second “heat” of the event at 1:30 p.m.

Fans looking to support the team can stop by the Mercy Campus at 1400 Mercy Drive. The Mercy Athletic Performance Center is the official training center of the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Second-year Lumberjacks athletic trainer Josh Bennett first heard of this event earlier this summer at the National Athletic Trainers Association’s annual conference in St. Louis.

“Once I saw what it was all about, I needed to find a way to get our team involved,” Bennett said. “It just so happened that Mercy had a HydroWorx pool, so we were able to organize it.”

Bennett’s goal is to raise $2,500 for the Eagle Fund through online contributions. Fans can donate funds and monitor the team’s progress at www.crowdrise.com/MuskegonLumberjacks.

The marathon has the expressed goal of raising $100,000 toward getting wounded warriors back in action via pro sports-quality rehabilitation. The HydroWorx treadmill effectively removes about 80 percent of a person’s body weight through the natural buoyancy of water. Because of this, running on the apparatus is remarkably low-impact and comfortable. For more information on the event, visit www.underwatermarathon.com.