UNDATED (CNN) -- Running a mile is a feat in itself for many. But one man has plans to go the distance, on the surface of the moon.
Skeptics said it couldn't be done, but not only did astronauts take that giant leap, they took a history-making golf swing. That was more than 40 years ago. Now one Earthbound athlete is striving toward another lunar milestone.
Jonathon Prince's dream? Run a mile on the moon. He says, "You can't help but stargaze at night and I just wondered about the possibility of running the first mile on the moon."
Prince has finished ambitious runs in the past. In 2005, he ran from Los Angeles to New Orleans raising more than $100,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. His new goal is raise awareness in space travel while inspiring students to excel in science. He says, "It's a demonstration for the current generation and the generation's not yet born. You know, to go beyond."
The question is how to get there? NASA retired its space shuttle program this year. So, Prince will go the private route flying onboard a rocket being developed by space exploration technologies, Space X for short. He says, "Private companies are now able to build rockets fund it on their own and sell trips."
But first for Prince, there's training. He says, "Typically I reach about 100-120 miles per week." And that's just the beginning. He says, "The gravity pressure, the buoyancy, everything... I have to reprogram everything I thought I knew about running."
Over the next few years, he'll learn about space travel at a private facility called NASTAR, the National Aerospace Training and Research Center in Pennsylvania. He says, "We are currently training the generation of folks that are not astronauts. Jonathon is at the forefront of leading this new industry."
Prince has received funding he needs from donors and sponsors and hopes to blast off by 2016. Until then the 31-year-old continues training. He says, "I know you've heard from the people who say 'Nice goal that you've got there' but there's no possibly way you're going to be able to do it. And you know skepticism is part of human nature but at the same time Kennedy had a dream to go to moon with Apollo mission. So it's important to put massive action behind your dream."