Ashton Kutcher Is Participating In The New York City Marathon To Bring Awareness To The Issue Of Online Child Sexual Abuse

After finishing a hard training run for a marathon on a sweltering morning in Los Angeles, Ashton Kutcher is seen with a broad grin. I genuinely enjoy running, Kutcher tells PEOPLE. However, I don’t love running in agony.

Kutcher has been having knee problems, so he went to the doctor to make sure he is not doing any damage that will be irreversible. I’m trying to control the agony and am crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to make it to the starting line with as little discomfort as possible so that I can take pleasure in the race. Training’s going fine. The individual, who is 44 years old, says, “I mean, I’m going to run the thing come hell or high water.”

The actor will participate in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 6, to collect funds for his nonprofit, Thorn, which helps protect children from being trafficked for sexual exploitation.

The concept that there are children, some of whom are preverbal, who are being abused in this fashion right now, perhaps nearer to where you live then you realize, is difficult for people to comprehend, according to Kutcher.

Kutcher states that there are three or four children in specific situations that we are still working on, one of which we have been trying on for two and a half years, and we still need to discover the child. I am familiar with the procedures necessary to locate a child. Simply put, it is against the law for me to engage in the behaviors I would have to adopt to find the child.

As he cries back, he explains, “I put that youngster on the other side of the finish line.” I know she is somewhere, and I want her to be aware that someone is on their way to find her.

It was 15 years ago when Kutcher first became aware of the need for the foundation. At the time, he was watching an episode of Dateline on child sex trafficking and was shocked to learn about the practice.