Ed's motivation for this undertaking was chronicled in the Indianapolis Star on February 2 (click here for article):

Cooning is motivated by personal experiences of family and friends who have suffered and died from heart-related conditions, including a friend, Jonathan Miller, whom he met when they were both in the Star of Indiana drum and bugle corps in the early 1990s.

In fact, he started running after Miller died in 2005 very suddenly of aortic dissection at age 33, probably related to his Marfan Syndrome, an unusual genetic disorder of the connective tissue. Miller and his wife were planning to run the 2006 Mini, so Cooning and a group of his friends trained and ran it that year in remembrance of him.

They formed a team, called Jonnie’s Goodguys, which has grown to more than 30 members who usually run the Mini, the Indianapolis Marathon at Fort Harrison and other smaller races.

Since 2008, they’ve been raising money for charities, including the National Marfan Foundation and other causes that don’t necessarily get a lot of attention. The group has even started the process to become a non-profit charitable organization.
 

 Congratulations to Ed for this extraordinary accomplishment!

A map of the Greater Indianapolis area illustrates Ed's "heart-shaped" path that he ran on February 3, 2012. The run was undertaken to recognize the importance of heart disease prevention.

Click here if you would like to support Ed on his next run.