Three runners have undertaken the ultimate endurance test: an attempt to run from Boston to Austin in two-and-a-half months to raise money for charity.  

Rusty Tolliver from Austin and brothers Scott and Rhys Jenkins from Cardiff, Wales, left Boston en route to Austin on Sept. 15.

Tolliver, Jenkins and Jenkins are running along a planned route through nine states in 72 days. A Dodge Stratus, a driver and a cameraman are following the runners.

“It touches everything: sidewalks, back roads, interstates…We might even be on a ferry at one point,” Tolliver said.

 Though originally from Bastrop, Tolliver lived in Austin prior to the marathon run and attended Austin Community College with hopes of pursuing an undergraduate degree in journalism. He wrote several articles for the Accent, the student-run newspaper at ACC, and for online magazine and writers’ network suite101.com. He spent the past year preparing for the run.

“Training began about a year ago, though I’ve always been in running shape,” Tolliver said.

Co-runner Scott Jenkins ran 15 miles daily and 30-40 miles on the weekends to prepare for the marathon run.

“I’ve been training hard,  but I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s a huge challenge, but I think life is for living and I want to challenge myself to achieve something different,” Jenkins said.

Austin-based firm and sponsor Soleus Running provided the runners with heart rate monitors and running watches, both of which will be worn throughout the trip.

“The fact that they are ending in Austin motivated us to get involved,” Duncan Clowe of Soleus Running said.

Tolliver’s ties to Austin is the main reason the city was chosen as the finishing point.

Preparations for the journey also involved planning a well-balanced high calorie diet – 7000 calories a day. Scott Jenkins’ meal plans include “getting [his] hands on pasta, chicken rice and steak” whenever possible.

“We do have a rough menu but also will be eating the occasional treat to keep us in that positive state of mind,” Scott Jenkins said.

Tolliver, Jenkins, Jenkins and their crew will be camping and sleeping in motels along the way.  If successful, the runners will hold the Guinness World Record for most consecutive marathons completed in consecutive days—72 days, to be exact.

“It wasn’t on my agenda to do it, but if we can do it, why not try to take a crack at it?” Tolliver said in regards to the world record.

Raising awareness and funds for veterans, cancer and heart disease patients, however, has been on the agenda from the start.

“We have all known people in the military and people who have suffered from both diseases,” Scott Jenkins said.

Tolliver, Jenkins and Jenkins are accepting donations both on their website and on the road for Young Texans Against Cancer, Help for Heroes/Salute America’s Heroes and the British Heart Foundation. They also hosted a launch party and silent auction on Sept. 13 at McGreevy’s, a bar in Boston, to raise funds for the selected charities.