Kraynik Banking on Reserves for the Long Run : Marathon: Bay Area athlete preparing for trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles for charity.

For Zoltan (Nick) Kraynik, running a 26.2-mile marathon is merely a wake-up exercise.

Kraynik, 42, is a running machine who feels more comfortable in a 120-mile ultramarathon, running for 48 consecutive hours or dashing 100 miles in the High Sierra from Squaw Valley to Auburn. Now, the Novato security specialist is training for his body’s biggest challenge, a nearly 500-mile run from San Francisco to Los Angeles. And it’s all for charity.

“This is something I’ve been thinking and dreaming about for a long time,” said Kraynik, who often commutes by foot from his home in northern Marin County to his workplace in San Francisco’s financial district. “I just love to run; the longer the better.

“This is a personal challenge. I’ve always enjoyed doing something not too many others have done. Also, I feel I am doing something worthwhile for other people, and this gives my life further meaning and purpose.”

The employee of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is using his vacation time to do the run as a preview to the bank’s 1990 United Way campaign.

Kraynik plans to run 487 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 15 days beginning Saturday and ending at the Los Angeles branch of the Reserve Bank on Sept. 29.

He figures on averaging 33.4 miles a day while enjoying the oceanside scenery along California 1.

Kraynik’s first leg will take him from San Francisco to Gregorio State Beach in San Mateo County, a distance of 43 miles. On the second day, he plans to cover 49 miles to Santa Cruz, and then run 44 more miles the third day to Monterey.

“I’m going a bit farther each day during the first week of the run when I am at my freshest,” he said. “Then I plan to taper off to 20 to 30 miles a day when fatigue and soreness arise.”

During the last few years, Kraynik has competed in the Western States Endurance Run of 100 miles, from Squaw Valley to Auburn; the 24-hour Redwood Empire Run in Santa Rosa; and the 24-hour Gator Run in San Francisco; and the Forty Niner Double Marathon.

In 1987, he endured 24 hours of pain and monotony to cover 120 miles and win the men’s division of the Sri Chinmoy 24-hour Track Run in Oakland.

“That was excruciating,” he said, “I had blisters, aching muscles and hallucinations about playing with my two children.

“On the run to Los Angeles, I will probably experience more of the same, including ‘white-line fever’ as I go down the highway. But I’ll love every minute of it.”