As a kid, Sammamish resident Todd Starnes remembers spending countless summers at camp hiking, swimming and exploring all nature has to offer.

Come Nov. 2, Starnes will replace the green of the Sammamish Plateau with the concrete jungle of New York City as he runs in the TCS New York City Marathon. It will be his first marathon in 30 years.

Starnes, 54, will be running to raise funds to benefit Camp Korey, a free, donation-supported camp facility in Carnation that provides camp experiences for kids dealing with life-threatening and life-changing medical conditions.

Starnes, who owns and operates Bicycle Adventures in Issaquah, became associated with Camp Korey through a friend who serves on the camp’s board of directors.

“I ride my bike past Camp Korey all the time,” Starnes said. “I thought this was a great reason to get in shape, and I’d be doing it for a good cause. I wouldn’t just pick any charity, I wanted to support a local charity.”

The NYC Marathon was founded in 1970 with 127 entrants running through Central Park, a race which only 55 finished. Today, more than 50,000 runners are expected to tackle a 26.2-mile course beginning on Staten Island and ending in Central Park.

Despite a broken ankle disrupting training for three months this past summer, Starnes runs up to five days a week for up to an hour, throwing in a 10-18 mile long run every other week.

“Anyone who runs, whether you are a serious runner or just like to run, the NYC Marathon is the granddaddy of all marathons,” he said. “It’s been on my bucket list for a while now, I’ve always wanted to run it.”

Starnes is also soliciting sponsorships and donations for his trip to benefit the camp. Founded in 2005 by Tim Rose in honor of his son, Korey, who died at 18 from bone cancer, Camp Korey relies on such sponsorships and donation efforts to provide free year-round facilities and programs to campers and their families.

“Every kid, when they look back, if they went to camp, those are some of the most memorable experiences of their lives,” Starnes said.

Parents also benefit from Camp Korey’s services, allowing them to take a break from the difficulty of caring for children fighting severe illnesses by giving them a place where they know their child will be cared for, he said.

Starnes will be joining roughly 30 other Camp Korey-sponsored runners at the marathon. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.campkorey.org/NYC.