Bishop Thomas John Paprocki’s Oct. 17 run in the 26.2-mile Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon raised over $30,000 to help offset debt left over from the restoration of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In the Chicago area, over $17,000 and a vacant lot were donated to support his run; proceeds will benefit the Chicago Legal Clinic, which provides legal services to the poor.

Bishop Paprocki ran the distance in four hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds for a pace of 10 minutes per mile. His pace from the marathon totals ranged from about 9:30 to 10:02 minutes per mile. Bishop Paprocki reached the halfway point in two hours 11 minutes.

Results were posted on the diocesan website at www.dio.org, on the diocesan Facebook page and Twitter account.

“I’m always overwhelmed when I finish,” Bishop Paprocki said in an interview with the Denver Post. “You’ve got a sense of elation, a sense of accomplishment. I just want to drop to my knees, praise God and thank him for his graces.

“I was running with a couple of my buddies, and we prayed the rosary,” Paprocki told the reporter. “We did all the mysteries.”

Bishop Paprocki placed 1,334 out of 2,894 total competitors. He placed 873 out of 1,537 male runners and was 24th out of 70 runners in his age group.