Aliso Viejo : 10,000-Mile U.S. Run to Help Fitness Academy

A 25-year-old endurance runner who ran 2,700 miles across Australia last year will attempt a 10-month, 10,000-mile run around the perimeter of the United States to raise funds for a planned fitness academy in Aliso Viejo.

“We’re going to raise $5 million” through the run, said Sarah Furcher, a North Carolina native who was working as a waitress in San Diego when National Fitness Foundation officials asked her to make the journey.

Furcher said she will run through 33 states beginning July 8 at the site of the proposed $50-million national fitness academy near Laguna Beach.

George Allen, former Los Angeles Rams football coach and head of the fitness foundation, also announced Thursday that Atlantic Richfield Co. will donate funds for the track at the academy.

Furcher, who said her run will be “really neat,” said she will also be visiting schools and service clubs on her trek to promote fitness.

Jerry Lenander, a spokesman for the foundation, said Allen hopes to break ground for the project later this year. The academy is designed to train coaches and teachers who train youngsters and senior citizens in physical activities.