‘Unhealthy’ smoke moves Springfield man’s 200-mile marathon, 2,000-pushup fundraiser indoors

(Update: Adding video, comments from Brandon Stutzman)

Moves to treadmill at Redmond gym to raise funds for Bethlehem Inn

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bethlehem Inn announced a unique and inspirational fundraiser being held Saturday in support of their services for the region’s adults and children experiencing homelessness. But wildfire smoke led to "unhealthy" air quality and made for a late change in plans, moving the fundraiser indoors.

Brandon Stutzman of Springfield said Saturday morning he changed plans and he had to leave Farewell Bend Park after the smoke became worse overnight, leaving him struggling to breathe. Much of the region awoke to air quality of "unhealthy" levels, improving a bit by midday (you can see the current air quality map on our weather page, courtesy of E::SPACE Labs).

Stutzman decided not to stop, but to finish the rest of the miles on a treadmill, finding a location at Fitness 1440 in Redmond. He was on mile 94 when he had to quit being outside. 

Stutzman once again selected Bethlehem Inn as the beneficiary of this fundraiser, featuring a 200-mile marathon and 2,000 pushups originally scheduled to take place on the Deschutes River Trail.

"Me and my friends have this thing where we like to push ourselves to the limit, and do it for a good cause," he said. "My first hundred-miler, I raised $14,000 for Bethlehem Inn, and I really wanted to double down on that to push my limits -- to raise double the amount."

The Inn has a special place in Brandon's heart.  His family stayed at the Inn and benefited from its emergency shelter services during a difficult time.

 His GoFundMe fundraising goal this time is $30,000.

https://www.facebook.com/Bstutzman24

Brandon had invited the community to come out and run with him this weekend. Folks can still join him at the new location.

With shelter locations in Bend and Redmond, Bethlehem Inn is Central Oregon’s largest emergency shelter; providing shelter, food and case management services for over 1,100 adults and children annually.  To learn more about Bethlehem Inn,visit www.bethleheminn.org. Follow them on Facebook/BethlehemInnBend or Instagram.  Donations may be mailed to: Bethlehem Inn, P.O. Box 8540, Bend, OR 97708.