Anne Bloom Hutchison, of Bismarck, sat on a beach in Hawaii recently, soaking in sun and a tropical drink while watching the view, an inspirational view - her son, Ryan Bloom, working, pounding his way across the beach, running in the sand. Getting ready.

Ryan Bloom, 28, a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant recently returned from South Korea, is getting ready, after a family-reunion Hawaii trip, for his next assignment - England.

He'll not only live there three years. He's going to be running there.

Bloom competed in 2005 in what is considered to be the hardest 26.2-mile marathon in the world, the Bataan Memorial Death March in the desert in New Mexico. He ran it in full military gear, combat boots and a backpack with 35 pounds - just to see if he could do it. The first 16 miles were mainly uphill. But he completed it in about five hours. He spend some time running through foot-deep sand, lost three toenails and so on.

But he couldn't quit, not after starting the race by listening to former POWs, now in their 80s, describe what they went through on the real Bataan Death March in World War II.

Bloom will take on another marathon on April 22 in London - with a different motivation.

He's going to run the Floral London Marathon - for cancer.

Bloom's wife, Tammy Bloom, lost her grandmother to cancer, and an uncle is fighting lung cancer. A young boy they know was diagnosed with cancer and two friends, in their 20s, also got cancer.

Bloom said he'd had enough, became really frustrated and started researching cancer.

"One in three people in America will get cancer,"he said.

He said he came across the Lance Armstrong Foundation Web site, which was looking for eight marathon runners to run the London marathon to raise money -100 percent of the funds going to the foundation's cancer survivor and research programs. Champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong established the foundation in 1997, which has since raised more than $29 million for programs and research.

For the London race, applicants were asked to submit an essay about why they wanted to do it. Bloom wrote about his frustration, his relatives and his past running experiences. But he didn't think he would get picked for this elite, professional marathon.

Bloom was picked.

"His (essay) was passionate,"remembers Lindsey Von Weller, the foundation's grass-roots fundraising coordinator.

And his chances were good. Only 20 applied. It's a new program, Livestrong Army Runners. "We're just rolling it out," Von Weller said.

Von Weller said the Army runners program started after Armstrong ran his first marathon, the New York City Marathon in November 2006. The marathon, which usually only accepts runners with the required qualifying times, gave 100 spots to runners of various abilities who were running for the foundation - and it was a huge fundraising success.

So the foundation has worked with the organizer of other elite marathons in the world and now has eight guaranteed spots for charity runners in the Boston, London, Berlin and Chicago marathons as well.

Bloom's London goal is to raise $10,000.

His mother, Anne Bloom Hutchison, isn't surprised by her son's athletic and humanitarian exploits. She said her son has an iron will and a soft heart - as a kid he would always bring home wounded animals, hoping to save them.

Bloom, who is a 1998 Century High School graduate, said he wasn't a runner in high school, but participated in football and other sports. He said he attended ROTC camps in those years and got a calling to enter the military. "I wanted to help people, free oppressed people,"he said.

Bloom, career Air Force with eight years in so far, said it was soon after Sept. 11, 2001, that he was transferred from Idaho and deployed to an area that he can't disclose because "it's still classified."

He and friends started running to stay fit. And then he started competing, in half-marathons at first.

This past year, his assignment was South Korea, far away from his wife, Tammy Bloom. She couldn't come with him because "the military doesn't think it's (the area) safe enough," he said.

But the separation is over. His biggest fan is moving with him to London, and will be at the finish line April 22.

His mission Friday, though, was to get help from the chiropractor. He tried to pick up a rock the wrong way and threw out his back. But he guessed that after a trip to the doctor he'd still be able to train that day. He planned to run six miles.

For information on how to help Bloom meet his $10,000 goal, visit www.livestrong.org/grassroots/ryanbloom.

(Reach reporter Virginia Grantier at 250-8254 or at virginia.grantier@;bismarcktribune.com.)