After his marriage to Scarlett Johansson in Canada last month, Ryan Reynolds is getting set to tackle the New York City Marathon on November 2. In an open letter he wrote on The Huffington Post, Reynolds has asked invites to donate to his cause - fight against Parkinson’s disease - adding “come down and watch. Feel free to bring a smile, automated defibrillator, or a fresh set of nipples.”  

Years ago on the day of the New York Marathon, the 31-year-old Canadian actor joined a crowd a half-mile before the finish line. He admits it was amazing to see “guys coming in to finish with bleeding nipples ... People were crying. People were limping, hobbling, screaming, crawling. But most importantly, people were experiencing a sublime rapture that I couldn’t even hope to understand.”

Reynolds is currently training to run the marathon for Team Fox, which supports Michael J. Fox’s foundation to the fight against Parkinson’s disease - Fox has been struggling with PD for the past 18 years, and Reynolds’ father for the last 15 years.

Talking of his choice of Team Fox, Reynolds explains: “because I support the Foundation’s urgent mission and I believe that together we can improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s and put an end to this disease.”

In his entry at HuffingtonPost.com, Reynolds writes: “I am not a runner. I am a running joke. Waking up at 4:30 a.m. and jogging anywhere from 11 to 23 miles has been nothing short of horrifying.”

Caught up in the toil of marathon training, he writes: “Not since the discovery of Junior High School has a torture been so effective. It’s my hope the story of my father combined with my own goal of becoming the first person in history to sob uncontrollably for 26.2 miles straight, may inspire you to give something too.”

Contributions to Reynolds’ fundraising goal of $50,000 can be made at TeamFox.org.