By AMY JONES / Associate Editor

HOOVER — One Hoover business owner hopes to encourage locals to donate thousands of food items to Backpack Buddies by pushing his body to the limits — and beyond.

During the “4,000 Ways to Mess Up a 10-mile Run” event, Sean Dickson, owner of Combat Fitness Training Facility in Hoover, will attempt a never-before-seen workout beginning at noon on Oct. 9 at Veterans Park in Hoover. The workout will consist of 40 rounds, each of which will include a 400-meter run, 25 push-ups, 25 body squats, 25 sit-ups and 25 burpees. A burpee is a full-body exercise used in strength training and aerobic exercise.

When the workout is complete, Dickson will have run 10 miles and done 1,000 of each exercise. He expects to complete the workout in six to seven hours.

“I’ll do (the workout) as fast as I can. You want to keep the breaks to a minimum,” he said. “It’s all about setting a pace that can be sustained.”

Dickson is asking Shelby County citizens to come out and bring food items. His goal is to get one food item for each repetition he performs, or 4,000 food items.

“If every person in Shelby County brought one food item, then we’d have just thousands,” he said. “We’d feed so many kids.”

Dickson said his 10 years of experience in the U.S. Army gives him plenty to draw on when meeting new physical challenges.

“When you reach those barriers that most humans stop at, my military experience taught me that you just ignore them and break that barrier,” he said.

Dickson said he will not deviate from his normal training routine while preparing for the Oct. 9 event.

“I train every day. We train for any situation, any scenario, at any moment,” he said. “We’re ready at any time for a marathon or a full-scale weightlifting competition. We’re just continuing with our typical training. I trust our training that much.”

For more information about the event, visit Combatfitnesstrainingfacility.com. Backpack Buddies accepts items such as ravioli or other canned pop-top meals, granola bars, 100 percent fruit cups, 100 percent juice boxes, oatmeal, grits, boxed cereals, cheese crackers and peanut butter crackers.