This is the fifth year of the Mayor’s Run for Wellness, part of the P.F. Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon.

Hallman, who turns 50 just two days before this year’s race, is marking the anniversary of his birth by running his first marathon (he’s already done more than a dozen half marathons) with 500 people who have raised money for Tempe charities. By race day, he will likely surpass the million dollar mark for Tempe non-profit organizations.

According to Dan Cruz at Competitor Group, the company that organizes the Rock n Roll Marathon nationally, Hallman is the single largest fundraiser the race has had by far. And that is saying a lot, considering the tens of thousands who run at the more than two dozen races around the world.

A live morning show opportunity will be available on Thursday, Jan. 12, from 5-9 a.m. at Tempe Beach Park. Hallman and his runners will be present along with representatives of the PF Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon and Tempe charities. They will be doing practice runs, stretches and giving tips on running not only this race but running for overall good health.

Hallman, hundreds of runners and corporate sponsors such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tempe Marketplace, American Outdoor and many others, have distributed about $800,000 to charities in the last four years. This year, 19 charities will benefit from the Mayor’s pounding on the pavement. You can see the list of sponsors and charities at http://www.mayorsrun.org/ You can also still sign up to run the marathon or half marathon, or, if you’re feeling a little less ambitious, you can make a donation to the cause online.

Squeezing training runs in between his job at Tempe Preparatory Academy and council duties, Hallman plans to do something fairly outrageous this year: he’s going to run the brand new half marathon route twice. The first time he’ll do the 13.1 mile course backwards, without water stations or marathon staff, starting at 5 a.m. He’ll finish the half in about 2:15, just in time to start the half all over again – this time running the course with everyone else in the right direction.

“I wanted to challenge myself. I really didn’t start running as an adult until we decided to have the Mayor’s Run,” Hallman said. “I’ve seen people change their lives and their health for the better through training for this race, and we’ve helped a lot of organizations maintain and improve their services to the community. If I can do this, so can other people my age and older. Exercise is an extremely important component of healthy living, especially as we age.”

While wanting to run the marathon, Hallman also wanted to run the new, beautiful half-marathon course, with both a start and finish in downtown Tempe. http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/arizona/event-details#course

“The new course is gorgeous,” Hallman said. “What could be better than running from downtown Tempe into Scottsdale, through Phoenix’s portion of Papago Park, over the Mill Avenue Bridge and into Sun Devil Stadium?”

The last practice run for the Mayor’s Run team happens this Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the Tempe Family YMCA, 7070 S. Rural Road. Anyone who wants to run with the team is welcome.