Nov 17, 2002 By April Straughters 7 min read

CALIFORNIA – Marc London expects to get through this week with memories of his father – and copious amounts of caffeine. The California University of Pennsylvania radio DJ will begin broadcasting live from 91.9 FM, WVCS, Power 92, Monday and will continue non-stop until Friday, 120 hours later.

His test of endurance, “London’s Marathon for Memory,” is an effort to raise funds for the Alzheimer Association’s Greater Pittsburgh Chapter. And, if he can keep awake, the Uniontown resident will have broken a Guinness Book’s world record for consecutive on-air hours performed by a single DJ.

But London, 28, a senior majoring in radio and television, says raising awareness for his cause means more to him than breaking a world record.

Looking at London, with his braided beard, tattoo-laden arm and trendy gear, one might wonder why such a young, hip DJ would be trying to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Truth is, London’s efforts are a tribute to his father, Ira London, an emeritus faculty member of Cal U who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994.

So, for London, the marathon seemed like a logical thing to do in honor of his father.

“He said to me once that he wished me success in whatever profession I chose and that he hoped it was creative,” London said.

London said his marathon is a way of giving something back to his father.

“I’ve had my ups and downs. I put my parents through a lot, but no matter what I did they were always there for me. My father made sure I accomplished what he knew I was capable of. He never turned his back on me once,” London said.

Today, London’s father resides in a personal care home in Uniontown. After seven years of slow regression, London says his father, once a vibrant, brilliant psychology professor with a Ph.D., is no longer the man he remembers.

“My father was the most brilliant man I have ever known. To watch this brilliant man go into a shell, I can’t explain it. You feel helpless. Right now, he is just like a body. He can’t even have a conversation at this point.”

London tries to remain optimistic, though, and said he is thankful that he was given a chance to be prepared for what was ahead. He admits, however, that he was very angry the first time his father forgot who he was, about five years ago.

“I admit, I got mad. Then I was sad, but I took it in stride. Later, when I told him what happened, his reaction was, ‘How can I forget you?'” London said.

“Some people lose loved ones and never get a chance to say goodbye or they didn’t get to say what they needed to say. I knew that I needed to take the time to get to know my father more than I already had. I had a good seven years to sit with him, talk to him, really get to know him. I’ve told him everything I want him to know. He knows I love him. That makes it easier, but you can never be completely prepared,” London said.

London said he hopes the money he raises through the marathon can prevent at least one person from going through what he and his family – mother, Laurie, and sister, Rachael London of McClellandtown – have gone through.

So London’s quest to stay awake for five days is one close to his heart. He says he will use the memory of his last visit with his father to keep him motivated.

He thinks that and about 50 bottles of Jolt Cola, a corporate sponsor, ought to do the trick. London also will try to get two days of sleep before his endeavor, but he said that will be difficult with his two children, Ricky, 6, and Gage, 20 months, at home.

London credits his wife, Rebecca, with coming up with the idea of breaking the world’s record.

“She’s my muse. I give her credit more than anyone else. She gave me a lot of ideas and has raised money and gotten sponsorship,” he said.

If training for such an endeavor is possible, London has gotten it. The young disk jockey said he kept his eyes peeled for 58 hours, two or three years ago when he and four other DJs had a two-day lock-in at the station and raised $2,400 for Children’s Hospital. He said he was the only one to stay up the entire 24 hours, and he was unable to go to sleep for a number of hours afterward.

He is hoping that experience will help him accomplish his goal now: “I’ve already stayed up half the time (120 hours).”

But, if London fails to break the world record, he said he will not be as disappointed as he will be if he doesn’t feel like he made a difference by raising awareness and money for his cause.

“I’m not doing this to break the record, but don’t get me wrong, I would like to. That would be nice, ” London said.

The record to break is 103.5 hours, held by a DJ in Sweden. London said he must take a 15-minute break every eight hours and is required to have at least two witnesses and either a doctor or a nurse present for each four-hour shift.

During his marathon, London will follow the station’s normal format, playing mellow rock early in the day and then moving to more aggressive heavy metal music as the day progresses. London said he will interview professional people to discuss the disease, some of his father’s colleagues and hopefully some celebrities. He said he also wanted to interview his mother, but she didn’t think she could go through with it.

“She’s reluctant because she gets so emotional. She’s not sure if she will be able to do it,” he said.

Anyone donating $25 or more will receive a black T-shirt that reads “London 120” in red letters with sponsors’ names, the date and radio station on the back in white ink. London said he will also auction off items on the online site ebay, including celebrity-autographed items and goods and service packages from local businesses.

London has one class left to complete before he graduates. He started out as a biology major, a subject he studied for two years, but his heart was in music. Since the fall of 1998, London has served as an active on-air jock and program director and has maintained the Saturday morning show, “London’s Morning Mayhem,” from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

London, who said he has an ear for music, said he usually plays the hottest in heavy metal. On his morning show, he voices his opinion on world issues and current events and usually takes a different viewpoint than other media members.

“I look at things going on in the world and shake my head, like why? I try to make people look at things in a different light,” he said.

So listeners shouldn’t expect a dull moment listening to a weary London, pumped full of caffeine.

London said he will try to keep the station’s two phone lines open for donations, but he urges people to pledge donations online at iratlondon@yahoo.com.

Pledges should include the donation amount, address, phone number and T-shirt size, if more than $25.

Donations should be sent to the Natali Student Center, 428 Hickory St., California, Pa., 15419-1394, c/o “London’s Marathon for Memory.” Checks should be made out to the Greater Pittsburgh Alzheimer Association.

To participate in the online auction, members should log on to ebay. The auction will be listed today under the category “charity,” then under “London’s Marathon for Memory.”