Not only that, a corporate sponsor is flying him to a Canary Islands resort next month to start training for the September marathon -- in Berlin.

He can thank a hearing impairment.

White, who retired in 1996 after 15 years as city manager, lives just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Alleghany County community of Glade Valley. But he still visits the Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates for his hearing problem.

Last year, Danish company Widex began looking for runners to help promote a new hearing aid for active people. The company did a nationwide search through hearing clinics across the country.

Katie Peter, a doctor of audiology at the Charlotte clinic, heard about the search. She knew White, a longtime patient, had just completed a triathlon, so she gave the company his name.

He was one of two Americans chosen.

"We don't find marathon runners who are hearing impaired every day," says Widex representative David Lassiter. "So he was rare person."

Next month he'll join a team of 34 runners from 17 countries at a Canary Islands resort called Club La Santa, which bills itself as "the most fantastic playground in the world for active people."

After six months of training, Widex will fly the team to Germany for the Sept. 25 Berlin Marathon.

"I thought it was an early April Fool's joke," White says. "It's a hoot."

White has run three marathons. But this will be his first since New York in 1992, which he ran in about 4 1/2 hours. Widex is giving him and other runners an incentive to run faster -- for each minute under four hours, the company will contribute 5 euros to the Deaflympics, a competition for the hearing impaired.

"I sure would like to get in good enough shape to break four hours," White says. "It's going to be a real chore."

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory says White has always kept in shape.

"Wendell always was running," he says. "There's no one better than Wendell to represent an energetic guy who has a little bit of age on him."

You can follow the training program and the progress of Wendell White and other members of the Widex marathon team by visiting the company's Web site, www.widex.com. Click on "Widex Marathon."

By Jim Morrill