An active-duty Navy officer will attempt to run from Los Angeles to New York City in record time.

Lt. Paul Johnson on Friday will begin his attempt to conduct the 3,000-mile cross-country run in 40 days, which would be two days faster than the current record time recognized by Guinness World Records.

“I really want to do it for how much running has done for me in terms of dealing with mental health issues and having just really dived into running the past 18 months,” Johnson said, Military.com reported.

“It’s a pretty ridiculous challenge, but we think that we might be able to give it a shot.”

Johnson will try to run 75 miles per day, which will take 13 to 15 hours of running at an average mile pace of 10 to 12 minutes.

Pete Kostelnick holds the current Guinness record at 42 days, 6 hours, and 30 minutes. As a Penn State University student, Johnson saw Kostelnick run through the college’s campus.

“I knew I wanted to run across the U.S. at some point, after I had seen Pete Kostelnick run in 2016 past State College there on his way to set the world record,” Johnson said, Military.com reported.

During his run, Johnson will be fundraising for Team Red, White & Blue, a nonprofit group focused on veteran mental health and fitness. He has encouraged veterans and other runners to join him during his run.

Johnson, who said he battled stress and anxiety during his early years in the Navy, said he began running after a friend asked whether he wanted to train for the 2022 Marine Corps Marathon.

“We trained for 4-5 months and both ended up finishing the marathon under 3 hours and qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon,” Johnson wrote on his website.

“During that period of focused training I realized how much the running helped me cope with some of the symptoms I was experiencing with the anxiety and depression.”

After being transferred to Newport, Rhode Island, at the very start of 2023, Johnson began running every day.

“This very quickly evolved into the ultra scene, and I was running 100-mile races by April,” he wrote. “Running was my therapy. It gave me a release and escape from everything I was feeling and in a positive manner that contributed to my overall well-being, rather than detracting from it.”

On “The Trident Room Podcast” in April of last year, Johnson said he had “a pretty lofty goal” of running from San Diego to Newport.

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