Running a marathon is a test of endurance and conviction, and one Bedford resident is willing to run 13 of them.

Nicholas Hinsley, an eighthgrade teacher and athletic director at Ross A. Lurgio Middle School, will run a marathon every month for the next 13 months all around the country to raise money for Children’s Hospital Boston Miles for Miracles.

He will be dedicating all 13 marathons to a student at the middle school who was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is receiving treatments at the hospital.

“I do this to myself,” said Hinsley on running. “I get to stop. But when you look at the kids (at Children’s Hospital), they have no choice. They live with pain and hardship everyday. They don’t get a chance to turn it off.”

Hinsley will turn 40 next year and chose 13 races to celebrate his birthday. He has been running and raising money for Children’s Hospital for the past five years, and he will begin his 13 races at the Boston Marathon on April 21.

He will also run in the Clarence DeMar Marathon in Keene, the Breakers Marathon in Newport, R.I., and the New Jersey Marathon. He will travel across the country, running in marathons in Montana, Utah, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia, before finishing with the Boston Marathon again next year.

Hinsley works hard before entering a race, running 90 to 100 miles a week. His routine usually involves a long run, sprints, tempo runs and general aerobic exercises.

“I generally do an 18-week training,” he said.

Hinsley first began running in 2000 and entered his first marathon in Myrtle Beach in 2001. So far, he has run 17 races, and his personal record was two hours, 53 minutes at the Boston Marathon last year.

The New Jersey Marathon figures to be one of Hinsley’s toughest races as it will be only two weeks after the Boston Marathon.

Jay Mountain Marathon in Jay, Vt., will also be difficult as he will be running 33 miles, more than he has ever run in a race. He hopes to raise $25,000 for Children’s Hospital. Donations can be made by visiting Hinsley’s Web site at run4chb. wordpress.com, and companies are welcome to sponsor him.

Friends, family and teachers at Lurgio School have all been very supportive of Hinsley. “I think he can do it. He’s crazy, insane, not wired like the rest of us,” said his wife, Karen.

Though she won’t be able to make all of them, Karen plans to take their two sons, Quinn and Ian, to at least some marathons during the year.

Hinsley plans to keep everyone informed of all his races and will send pictures.

When asked what he’ll need after all 13 races are finished, “duct tape and Advil,” said Hinsley, laughing. “I think it’s going to be bittersweet.”