Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994                   TAG: 9405020128
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PETERSTOWN, W.VA.                                LENGTH: Medium

51-YEAR-OLD IS ONE-MAN CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

When the 51-year-old grandfather and former Radford Army Ammunition Plant employee jogs out of Cape Henlopen, Del., Monday morning at dawn on his cross-country marathon, he'll carry a message of hope and health to the over-the-hill gang and maybe even directly to President Clinton.

To emphasize the plight of the uninsured and unemployed like himself, Mann has invited the president to jog along for a spell as he passes through Washington, D.C.

Through exercise and healthy habits, Mann says, "we can literally change the health care industry ourselves and not wait on Congress to do it."

He hopes to make Portland, Ore., by this fall and swing back to Atlanta in time for the Olympics in 1996.

"Whatever it takes me to get there," he said. "I'm getting cranked up."

After he was laid off as a training representative at the arsenal early last year, Mann's life took a downhill slide. "I reached the point I wanted to sleep all day," he said.

Always active athletically, Mann started jogging, partly to overcome his depression and discouragement and also to prove to himself that he wasn't ready for the scrap heap just yet. His slogan, "Feeling over the hill. Run over the hill," came to him during one of his jogs along a Mountain State byway.

Now, he hopes Nike - which is supplying him with footwear and clothing for his "Run Across America" - will also pick up on his idea to design an "over-the-hill" sneaker for active, but older, folks. "You know, with a little extra padding and extra support at the ankle," he explained.

Mann, who won an "Iron Man" competition in Giles County a few years ago, has been running anywhere from eight to 16 miles a day for the past several weeks to get in shape. He'd like to cover 25 to 30 miles a day during his Run Across America, though he plans to "do it smart" and pace himself according to conditions. A devout Mormon and church official, Mann will not run on Sundays.

Helping out will be his 25-year-old son Sean - one of his six children - who will trail along in a refurbished Volkswagen van and scout out schools and churches to visit. Admired as a captivating classroom instructor during his days at RAAP, Mann will take time out along the way to inspire school and church groups with his ideas and ideals and to show that even "little people" have a voice.

He has some definite ideas about how to promote good health, too, including cutting tobacco price supports and giving an insurance break to people who avoid unhealthy habits.

Mann concedes the trip will be expensive - he has no major financial supporters yet - and parts of it will be hilly. But now that he's overcome the hurdle in his head, he's ready."

"The biggest problem I've had is just getting myself convinced mentally that I could do it," he said. His wife, Sue, told him to go for it. "I got to thinking maybe she's trying to get rid of me," he joked.

Mann wants to meet plenty of people along the way, and he's willing to take the time to get to know them, though he hopes to make Portland "before the dead of winter."

He's also hoping he can convince a few of them to tag along and "walk or run a mile with me, or whatever they can do." He wouldn't turn away contributions either.

Mann plans to cross about a dozen states, including Virginia and West Virginia. For the most part, he'll stick with paved roads.

But wherever he passes, Mann hopes to blaze a trail of his own.