Fleet Feet Sports Owner Running in L.A. Marathon, and Around the Valley, to Help Local Cause

owner Trey Barnes is using his expertise as a trainer of runners in the service of a good cause. Not only will he be participating in the Los Angeles marathon this weekend, but he has also been training 60 people since last October to run it with him. All 61 of them will be be raising funds and awareness for the Center for Assault Treatment Services (CATS) in Northridge.

CATS, said Barnes, is unique in the Valley, as it's the only organization that offers round-the-clock assistance and treatment for victims of sexual abuse.

Barnes is also helping train 40 runners for the CATS "Victims Walk/Run!" 5K/10K event at on April 15.

He will also be running for an incredible 24 consecutive hours on April 14, the day before participating in the 10K run. He hopes to cover 100 miles over the course of the day.

Barnes will be running "back and forth across the Valley" for an entire day. For his planned route, click here. He said that friends will also be posting his whereabouts on Fleet Feet Sports' Facebook and Twitter pages. He'll be starting at 6:30 a.m. on April 14 at the intersection of Woodley Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Encino.

To sponsor Barnes' run, click here to visit his donation website. He also said that he's welcoming people to run parts of the course with him; to participate, drop him an email at trey@fleetfeetencino.com.

A 24-hour run sounds like a lot, especially after the Los Angeles marathon and before a 10K run, but it's par for the course for Barnes, who told Patch that he regularly runs "100 milers" and 50 kilometer races. His inspiration, he says, is the cause he's raising awareness for, CATS in Northridge.

"CATS is funded by private donations, and they're tough to come by," said Barnes. "They need more exposure - they're the only place like it in the whole Valley".

Barnes added that he hopes to raise the profile of the organization and its goals during the course of his marathon run Sunday, as well as his 24 hour Valley run and 10K race in April.

"Everyone knows about sexual abuse, people get hurt and abused but people don't want to talk about it," said Barnes. "This draws a light to it through doing something that's kind of different."