RICHMOND, Va. -- You might not recognize Doug Orleski running around Richmond.
Even his best friends have trouble recognizing him these days.
"Probably about two years ago I was around 212 pounds,” said Doug. “I was bigger than I've ever been and I kind of hit the wall."
Two years of running and 60-pounds lighter, Doug decided to run his first race; the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K.
Right after registering, he found something shocking on his computer.
"It's an email from Sportsbackers; and I'm like, Oh my gosh!"
Doug was selected as this year’s Dash for the Cash participant.
Based on his estimated finish time, he'll get a head start on the course and race against the rest of the field.
If he wins, he gets $2,500.
That’s a lot of pressure knowing some of the fastest humans on the planet are chasing you.
"I don't know, maybe I'll envision them like, being chased by zombie or something! Anything that's going help me get in the mental state that they cannot catch me," said Doug.
Doug is used to starting races, not finishing them.
You see, he's also known as the artist RVA Coffee Stain who hides art around Richmond and gets people racing to find it.
“I'll post it on my social media and if you can tell where it is from the picture and you're the first to get there, you get to keep it," he explained.
You could say Doug is drawn to "giving back to the community."
If he wins the Dash for the Cash, Doug says he’ll give the $2,500 to the VCU Massey Cancer Center.
“No matter what it's going to be fun,” said Doug. “I win, it'll be awesome. If I lose, it'll still be fun and awesome, so I'm just going train and leave it out on the course.”
