Sometimes you can’t do enough for those you love.

Hawkins Drinkard and his wife, Amy, wanted to do more for his dad, Jim Drinkard of Troy, who was diagnosed with cancer in March 2010. They found a way.

On Nov. 3, Hawkins and Amy Drinkard will run in the American Cancer Society’s Rock ’n Roll Half-Marathon in Savannah, Georgia. All of the money raised will fund cancer research.

The efforts of the couple are something more they can do for those they love.

“We’re running for my dad and for my uncle, Bobby Drinkard, who was recently diagnosed with cancer,” Hawkins Drinkard said. “And, we’re running for all the others who are affected by this disease.”

Hawkins said he and his wife weren’t runners, “until now.”

“Actually, running in the half-marathon was Amy’s idea,” Drinkard said. “She heard about the American Cancer Society’s marathon and half-marathon meeting here in Birmingham and thought it was something we could do.”

The Drinkards attended the meeting and, although they weren’t runners, they were both sold on the idea.

“We didn’t think we could do the marathon but we knew that we could push our limits and run the half-marathon,” Drinkard said. “In June, we started the ACS training program with about 40 others. Some of them are, like us, running for someone they know, but there are those who are just running in support of the cause.”

Drinkard said the runners have a trainer who sets up their training schedule.

“During the week, we do short runs with a ‘big’ run on Saturday,” he said. “The longest distance that we have run is eight miles. Whether or not we run a half-marathon distance before going to Savannah will be up to our trainer.”

Drinkard said he and his wife are looking forward to the “really big run” on Nov. 3. That’s when all of the training will pay off.

Each runner must raise $2,900 to enter the Rock ’n Roll Marathon/Half-Marathon.

“One way to raise the money is to get sponsors,” Drinkard said. “Amy and I each have a Facebook page on the event website where people can donate to our run. We are asking that any donations be made half to my page and half to Amy’s.”

To make a donation, visit determination.acsevents.org and click on Support an Athlete. Find Amy and Hawkins and click Donation. Supporters can also make a donation by mailing a check payable to American Cancer Society to Jeans Flowers at 1216 South Brundidge Street, Troy, AL, 36081.

The Drinkards are looking forward to their first half-marathon and to the opportunity to raise funds for the fight against cancer, which is very personal to them.

“About 20,000 runners are expected and, since this is our first race, Amy and I plan to run together,” Drinkard said.

“We have made new friends through participation in the ACS trainingn program. We’ll definitely do this again. There’s another ACS marathon/half-marathon in New Orleans and that will be second opportunity for us to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.”