Marathon runner hopes he can
go the distance twice

Picture running the Boston Marathon, a 26.2-mile crucible of relentless pounding, grueling hills, and bone-jarring fatigue. Feel the blisters, the dehydration, the mental strain, the shredded calves, and screaming quads.

Now imagine running it twice.

That's what Hassan Haydar, 55, of Quincy, has set out to do tomorrow. An 11-time marathoner with a best time of 3 hours 21 minutes, Haydar plans to complete numbers 12 and 13 in a single day -- running from Copley Square to Hopkinton in the morning, then back again during the race itself. It's the double marathon, more than 52 miles, roughly the distance from Marina Bay in Haydar's hometown to the Bourne Bridge on the Cape.

It's a singular test of endurance, but Haydar believes the level of athletic sacrifice and the sense of achievement that follows are in direct proportion. By demanding and instilling discipline and perseverance, running can open the door to the ''sweeter side of life," he said.

''Running marathons," he said, ''you experience the sweet and the sour -- the sweetness of the accomplishment and the misery of the distance."

Haydar plans to begin his trek at around 6 a.m. at the finish line on Boylston Street with a training partner from Natick and two other runners from Virginia. They hope to arrive in Hopkinton by 10:30 or 11, giving them a chance to eat, quench their thirst, and rest for a precious hour or so before the starting gun. On the way back, Haydar said, they'll have a bit more crowd support and will start on a downhill -- though Heartbreak Hill will prove a stern test.

Haydar is more concerned about finishing than time, but predicted he will be on his feet for at least nine hours.

Until recently, the marathon was a sufficient challenge for Haydar, who steadily improved as a runner since joining the L Street Running Club in South Boston in 2001. The turning point came last June when an ''ultramarathoner" invited him on a long Saturday morning run in the Blue Hills Reservation.

The running fiend planned to train for hours, Haydar recalled, but told Haydar he could stop when he wanted, since they periodically would be looping back to the parking lot for drinks. They set out at 5 a.m., and others joined them as the morning moved along. But while other runners came and went, Haydar and the ultramarathoner kept racking up the miles. Finally, after eight hours and roughly 42 miles, they called it a day. Haydar was mentally and physically wrecked.

But he was also hooked.

''I was on board. I was addicted. The sense of accomplishment, it's powerful. Any long run, you feel pain and misery at the end. But yet you get so much enjoyment out of it."

Not everyone shared his enthusiasm. In December, he posted a message on the running club's website to see whether anyone was interested in joining him on the ''double Boston."

His in-box was not exactly flooded with responses. ''Absolutely, no reaction from anybody," he said. ''They pretended they had never heard of me."

He has gotten quizzical looks from nonrunners as well when he mentions the double marathon, but said he doesn't expect them to have much insight into what motivates long-distance runners. He is quick to insist, though, that most people have runners within them.

''I'm a great believer in the potential of the human body," he said. ''Some people tell me, 'I could never run a marathon!' But they can. It's just a question of, 'Do you want to?' "

Born in Lebanon, Haydar fled the civil war ravaging his homeland in 1977 and moved to Quincy, where he has lived ever since. He watched the Boston Marathon every year, but wasn't a runner himself until his daughter joined her middle school track team in the mid-1980s.

''For his daughter, a father will do anything, even get off the couch," he quipped.

Still, he didn't run consistently until 2001, when he joined the L Street Running Club. He recalled his first practice as a ''very scary experience," but he was able to complete the scheduled 10-mile run. He proved a quick study. Just a few months later, he finished his first Boston Marathon in 3:59. While he could barely move for days afterward and swore to ''never again" run a marathon, before long he resumed training in earnest.

Haydar usually runs four days a week, almost always with others. He never stretches, and eats whatever he wants, whenever he's hungry. At 5 feet 8 inches and a wiry 158 pounds, Haydar has a distance runner's build and appreciable talent. But he attributes the bulk of his endurance to a deep competitive streak, an obsessive side -- he hasn't missed a Sunday run in five years -- and an abiding love of the sport and the rewards it brings.

''Being in shape is a great gift," he said. ''I am very thankful to God for the opportunity to do this."

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.