Sam Thompson is about to take a Hawaiian vacation. It just won’t be a long one.

Thompson, the Vicksburg native who is attempting to run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states, will head across the Pacific Ocean today to tackle the Honolulu Marathon course. It will be Thompson’s 12th marathon in as many days, and follows Monday’s run in Boise, Idaho, and this morning’s grueling jaunt through the streets of Phoenix, Ariz.

The P.F. Chang Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon course features a 150-foot elevation change over the 26.2 miles, all through temperatures that will approach 100 degrees by the time Thompson finishes around noon Mountain time.

&#8220The last half won’t be pleasant,” a weary-sounding Thompson said with a laugh, as he and his support crew drove to the airport in Boise. &#8220But I feel good. Every day is pretty much the same. I get done, ice my legs, have a massage and try to stay off my feet as much as possible. Then I get up and go for a nice 26.2-mile jog in the morning.”

This afternoon, Thompson will get on a plane and take a 7-hour flight to Hawaii, where he’ll zip around Honolulu. Not long after he finishes that run, it’s back to the mainland to go through Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday and Wichita, Kan., on Friday.

&#8220My dad is actually in Hawaii on a business trip,” Thompson said. &#8220We’re only in Hawaii for 13 hours or so, but we’ll be able to see him, which is nice.”

So far, Thompson has run marathons in the middle of the night, the middle of the day and all points in between. Last Friday, he completed the Napa Valley Marathon course in northern California by starting at 2 a.m., then caught a plane to Alaska for the next run.

Between the plane rides and high-altitude, high-heat courses, this may be the toughest week of Thompson’s two-month quest. After Albuquerque, most of the marathons are within driving distance of each other. That will help him relax and stretch out in the back of a van while a member of his support crew – his mother Diane, dietitian and masseuse Kirsten Sellereit and photographer and videographer Andres Arciniegas – cruise along the highway to the next stop.

&#8220After Hawaii, we’ll be past the bad travel aspects of it,” Thompson said. &#8220Air travel isn’t the most fun. Being in an airplane seat isn’t the most comfortable place to be.”

Luckily, his travel experiences have been pretty uneventful so far. On a quest where one rainy day or missed flight can mess up months of logistical planning, Thompson and his crew have not had any.

&#8220We’ve been very, very fortunate,” he said. &#8220We’ve had some rain while we were driving, but nothing bad.”

Thompson is running many of the courses in his quest on his own time, since there are few sanctioned marathons in the summer months. He’s charting the distance with a handheld GPS, and confirming it with the help of local media, running clubs and the support crew.

His goal is to raise awareness for victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Thompson has been leading a group of about 100 volunteers with the First Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis since the storm, aiding in cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

So far, he’s received warm welcomes at all of his stops. He’s run in two marathons on their actual racedays and gotten plenty of handshakes and congratulations for his efforts from fellow runners.

Newspapers and TV crews also have taken notice, arranging interviews at almost every stop. He had to delay his run in Phoenix today by 30 minutes, for example, because a local television station wanted to do a live interview at the start of his run.

&#8220It’s neat. It’s kind of a weird feeling to have people take notice,” Thompson said. &#8220It’s neat to see the nation realize that everything is not fixed (on the Coast).”