Godsmack’s Sully Erna may be in one of the grittiest rock bands out there, but the rocker is showing off his softer side as he participates in an upcoming event, raising money for children’s charities.
Erna recently told fans that he has started training to run the Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon scheduled for Nov. 11 in San Antonio, Texas. He’ll be asking sponsors and fans alike to support his run to help him raise money for children’s hospitals around the country through a charity called 4-LOVE-24.

The Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon is held annually with stops around the country. Erna will be clocking 26.2 miles to get the job done.

Erna took to his Facebook page explaining the upcoming marathon and his training and inspiration, saying:

““Started officially training 2 weeks ago for the 26.2 mile Rock N Roll Marathon in San Antonio, Nov. 11th 2012! Hoping to get sponsors and fans to help support me and raise money for children’s hospitals around the country. Follow me on sullyerna.com, godsmack.com, twitter and facebook for updates on my training, cheer me on and wish me luck!!”
Erna had a bit of a scare recently when the band had to cancel some shows in Europe due to needing to rest his vocal cords for a few weeks, but he’s back in fighting form as clearly evidenced on the band’s current tour run. Erna and Godsmack are currently out on the 2012 Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival, sharing the main stage with Shinedown, Staind, and Adelitas Way. Read our review of the show here.

Erna was spotted wearing a knee brace on stage (as seen in the photo above) but according to recent Twitter posts it’s not slowing him down, with Erna reporting, “Knee is holding up great so far!”

Erna has also said that if he’s successful with this run, he’s looking forward to many more. But before any additional races, he’ll be able to chillax (and rock out) on the ShipRocked cruise, which Godsmack are co-headlining with Korn. The boat sets sail from Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 27.

-loudwire.com