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garycohenrunning.com
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"All in a Day’s Run" is for competitive runners,
fitness enthusiasts and anyone who needs a "spark" to get healthier by increasing exercise and eating more nutritionally.
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This is what the running elite has to say about "All in a Day's Run":
"Gary's experiences and thoughts are very entertaining, all levels of
runners can relate to them."
Brian Sell — 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathoner
"Each of Gary's essays is a short read with great information on training,
racing and nutrition."
Dave McGillivray — Boston Marathon Race Director
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| Dave McGillivray is Race Director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and has been since 1988. Actually,he was Technical Director from 1988 to 2000 and then his title changed to Race Director in 2001. His experience as Race Director also includes the B.A.A.Boston Athletic Association Half Marathon (2001 – present), 2008 and 2004 USA Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, 2003 U.S. Women’s Marathon National Championship and 1990 Triathlon World Championship. As founder and President of DMSE Sports, Inc., since 1982 Dave has directed or consulted on over 750 mass-participatory athletic events. He is also an accomplished endurance athlete with personal bests of a 2:29:58 marathon and 10:36:42 Ironman triathlon. Dave has completed over 123 marathons including 37 consecutive Boston Marathons. From 1978 to 1986 he challenged himself with numerous feats of stamina and willpower including the Run across America (3,452 miles) and East Coast Run (1,520 miles); separate 24-hour runs, swims and bike rides; Empire State Building Run-up and the first sanctioned marathon held inside a prison. In most of these events Dave raised thousands of dollars for charity. Each year on his birthday since 1966 Dave has run the equivalent number of miles as his age. His illustrious career in the sport of road racing has resulted in numerous accolades including the prestigious ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’ presented by Competitor Magazine, the ‘Race Director of the Year’ award by Road Race Management, Inc. and a 2005 induction into the Running USA Hall of Champions. Dave lives in North Andover, Massachusetts with his wife, Katie and four children, Ryan, Max, Elle and Luke and one more on the way! |
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| GCR: | The 2009 B.A.A. Boston Marathon marks your 22nd year directing the race. What are some of the biggest changes that occurred between when you took the helm and the race’s present edition? |
| DM | The greatest impact on the race Mainly was the field size …increasing from about 15,000 to 25,000+ participants. We have a ’small’ venue and handling that many on this course is the biggest challenge. |
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| GCR: | For many runners racing the Boston Marathon is almost like finding the ‘holy grail.’ How does it feel to preside over a race that is held in such high esteem and how do you find a balance between keeping its stature while still expanding the field? |
| DM | I recognize how important this race is to so many and as such don’t take my job lightly. I frequently say I am just a care taker; the race was here before me and will be here after I am gone. I’m just helping to take care of it for a while I am here. Maintaining quality vs. quantity is my ultimate goal. We also have to work with the cities and towns we race through as they basically close down for the race to pass through. The biggest challenge is that we start in a small residential town. While many newer races are designed for huge numbers of participants, this race was a small race of only a couple of hundred racers. Unless we bring in chainsaws and bulldozers there is only so much we can do. When people ask why we don’t require slower qualifying standards since there are so many more runners and average times have slowed down I say, ‘There are only so many seats at the World Series or Super Bowl and only so many entries at Boston.’ And if we did relax the standards we would have to turn away even more runners with qualifying times. |
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| GCR: | In recent years two major changes have been made regarding the start of the Boston Marathon as the start was moved up from noon to 10:00 a.m. and there are now two starting waves of participants. Were their any logistical problems and have these measures positively impacted the race? |
| DM | Any little change at Boston is a BIG change so radical changes like wave starts and an early start took year’s to implement. However, both have succeeded very well and have accomplished what we needed. Moving the start to 10:00 a.m. is closer to a racer’s normal running time. It minimizes waiting, requires fewer fluids in the athlete’s village and is generally more efficient. We were forced to implement the wave start as it took so long to get all of the runners to the start that some runners were using the rest room in residents’ yards. |
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| GCR: | The 2007 edition of the Boston Marathon coincided with a fierce Nor’easter the night before that threatened the race from even starting. Describe the events of the days prior to the race, the night before and race day and how close the race came to being cancelled. |
| DM | About five days out, meteorologists reported that a Nor’easter of 'epic proportions' was on the way. ALL the focus now became on the weather. We delayed setting up tents in the athletes’ Village from Wednesday to Saturday, sent out an email blast to all the participants making them aware of the predicted conditions and gave a flyer to every runner at race registration. Our MEMA meeting on Thursday morning was jam packed with Over 150 representatives from all the federal, state and local public safety agencies. On Friday the National Weather Service was predicting temperatures in the mid-30’s and steady headwinds at 20-30 mph with gusts up to 50-60mph. On Sunday at 2:30 pm, we had our FINAL public safety conference call and the forecast seemed more encouraging. The remainder of the day was a whirlwind of constant communication with race personnel, government officials and the B.A.A. Board of Governors. I was up all night before the race monitoring conditions and gave the go-ahead for the race as of 5:00 a.m. as buses would start loading runners at 5:45 a.m. Subsequently, reports of port-o'johns blowing over, a downed power line on the course and flooding were worrisome but somehow the weather improved enough that the race was able to go off better than expected. Temperatures were in the 40’s, about 10 degrees higher than anticipated and winds subsided. It ended up being one of our most successful marathons of all time with a 98.6% finishing rate, very few medical problems and a low no show rate. It seemed that most wanted to be part of this epic day. |
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| GCR: | Conversely in 2004 temperatures approaching 90 degrees in Hopkinton turned the race into a ‘survival shuffle’ for many racers. How did the weather that day affect preparations for future edi tions of the race? |
| DM | You always get better and become more prepared after facing adversity. Although we felt we were very prepared for the heat in 2004, we also learned from it and always have systems and plans in place to deal with the worst. Overall we plan to have twice the water that we need. We could have 50 water trucks – two at each mile marker. We have enough fluids for two glasses of water and one glass of Gatorade for each runner at each fluid station plus a slight percentage more. We’ve never come close to running out of fluids, even on the hottest days. |
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| GCR: | Bill Rodgers won the Boston Marathon four times from 1975 to 1980. Have you had a chance to run much with Bill on training runs and do you have any favorite 'Bill Rodgers stories?' |
| DM | Yes, Bill and I are good friends. We ran together quite a bit in the 70’s as we lived near each other. I have a lot of Bill Rodgers stories but what I most know about Bill is that he is a regular guy who is very approachable, very likeable and a tremendous ambassador for our sport. One funny story occurred I believe in 1981 when Bill was the defending champion. We were both Greater Boston Track Club members and were relaxing prior to the race in the home of fellow runner, Dr. Bob Johnson, whose home is the first house on the right after the starting line in Hopkinton. About 10 or 15 minutes before the start no one could find Bill. We headed to the start without him, though we thought he was still in the house. Bill’s wife, Ellen, finally located him in an upstairs bathroom where he was trapped after the door knob broke off and he became locked inside. She was able to get him out and he made it to the starting line in time. We have wondered since then what would have happened if it was time to start the Boston Marathon and the defending champ couldn’t be found! Would the race have been delayed or started without him? Luckily the race organizers weren’t placed in that difficult situation that day. |
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| GCR: | Who are some of your favorite champions and competitors in the Boston Marathon and why? |
| DM | Of course 1957 winner Johnny Kelley – he and I were very close friends and Joan Samuelson who’s race I now direct in Maine. My favorite 'competitor' was little Katie Lynch who ran 26.2 feet in her walker a few years back which was the most emotional moment ever for me in the Boston Marathon. The next year she ‘ran’ the final stretch and crossed the finish line with a friend. We had discussed my pushing her the entire way similar to the Hoyt father and son team, but unfortunately she passed away from complications due to deteriorating health. |
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| GCR: | The last Americans to win the Boston Marathon were Greg Meyer in 1983 and Lisa Weidenbach in 1985. Do you think we will see an American wearing the champion’s laurel wreath anytime soon? If so, who? |
| DM | Sure we will, perhaps this year when Ryan Hall toes the line in Hopkinton. The focus by our youth on team sports in America makes it difficult to attract large numbers and the most athletic to our sport. Many runners in the U.S.A. run by default rather than by choice as they are ‘too small’ for football or ‘too short’ for basketball. Another issue has been the lack of support for post-collegiate racers who may be years away from reaching their peak performances. Fortunately, training groups such as the ‘Hansons’ are helping out. |
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| GCR: | At the 2000 Road Race Management Race Directors Meeting you were named Race Director of the Year by a committee vote of race directors, media, sponsors and elite athletes. Other winners include Carey Pinkowski of the Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon, deceased NYRRC President Fred Lebow and the Walt Disney World Marathon’s Jon Hughes. Describe how it feels to be included in this select group and honored for your hard work. |
| DM | It’s always humbling to receive and award like this…however, I’ve always said there is no such thing as an individual award, that many others truly helped you get to where you are today. That is definitely the case with me. |
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| GCR: | Marathon running continues to grow as a participatory activity in the United States. Total U.S. marathon finishers topped 300,000 for the first time in 2002 and exceeded 400,000 in 2007. What is the draw of the marathon and can this growth continue? |
| DM | It’s all about self-esteem today and, feeling good about yourself. Running does that to you. And yes, as much as it is growing today, I believe it is here to stay and this growth will continue for some time to come. |
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| GCR: | Despite the tremendous growth in total marathon finishers, only 1.7% of marathoners broke three hours in 2007. Discuss the change over the past 20 years from the marathon as a competitive racing challenge to predominantly a participatory event. Also, what is the significance of breaking three hours? |
| DM | For most today, finishing is the goal, not necessarily the time. It’s definitely about participation more than competition. Times which could win a race today wouldn’t put you in the top 50 in the 70’s and 80’s. It is all so fascinating. The small proportion of total marathon runners who break three hours will always make it an important time threshold. |
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| GCR: | You have completed 37 consecutive Boston Marathons, mostly late in the evening after finishing with your duties as Race Director. Describe your yearly running tribute to your Grandfather and how long do you think it may be before you relinquish your duties as Race Director and rejoin the main field? |
| DM | I almost dropped out of my second attempt at the Boston Marathon, but I happened to be struggling right at the place the race course passes his grave where he had been buried after passing away a few months earlier. I used my grandfather’s words of encouragement to help me finish. As far as running with the race field right from the start, I would get more out of it from a business perspective as I could see things for myself. I run later in the day due to perception as people may say I’m more interested in my own run rather than being there to make a tough decision. Even with starting later one year I ended up taking a two hour break from my race and sitting on a front porch while handling conference calls until a situation was resolved. |
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| GCR: | Your marathon personal best just snuck under a significant time threshold as you raced 2:29:58. What are some of the details of that race and were you eyeing the clock as you raced toward the finish? |
| DM | It was at Boston. The previous year I had finished in 2:30:09 and my training indicated I was in 2:25 shape, hence my disappointment that day. Now when I reflect back I am glad to have finished under 2:30. As an aside, it was interesting that I finished about fifty places down the list in 1979 as the field was growing much deeper in those days. |
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| GCR: | You competed in eight Ironman triathlons including a very respectable best time of 10:36:42. How does the Ironman compare to a marathon mentally and physically? |
| DM | I felt more competitive back then in the Ironman than I did in the marathon. I certainly loved the fitness level it got me in at the time. And, believe it or not, the Ironman did way less damage to me than running an intense marathon. The intensity of running is so much more strenuous on your body as you pound a lot more than when you swim or bike. Running slower in an Ironman isn’t that tough on me even though there is fatigue from the swim and bike legs of the race. When I was in top form I felt like I could jog 26 miles for days on end. Racing a marathon really beats me up. Since Ironman running isn’t as intense I didn’t do the damage that I do in a flat-out marathon. After racing the Boston Marathon hard I had to walk down stairs backward for a few days. The day after a Hawaii Ironman I could jog an easy five miles. |
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| GCR: | In 1978 your ‘Run Across America’ was an astounding 3,452 miles from Medford Oregon to Medford Massachusetts in 80 consecutive days which ended in Fenway Park. What led you to undertake it and what are some of your fondest memoriesthe most memorable happenings of that trek? |
| DM | I just wanted to do something that very few others had ever done. Running into Fenway Park in front of 32,000 people was certainly the highlight of the entire trip. One thing that stands out is that I almost had to abandon the run after about 1,000 miles as my left knee had excruciating pain. As fit as I was, you can never train to run 40 – 50 miles per day. Just running so much day after day makes you stronger. I just couldn’t run any more so my support team took me to a hospital in Ely, Nevada. I couldn’t tell the doctor what I was really doing so I said, 'I was jogging and it got sore.' This was the truth – it’s just that I was jogging 40 to 50 miles per day! He gave me some muscle relaxers and told me to take a couple of weeks off. Instead I analyzed the situation and thought that maybe running 1,000 miles all against traffic had put extra stress on the left leg. So I started running with traffic one day and alternating against traffic the next day and the pain went away for the next 2,500 miles. If I didn’t figure that out I wouldn’t have made it. A bad memory is when pickup truck came at me and almost hit me in Iowa. I dove into a ditch to avoid it. They came back at me twice more and even opened their door the third time which barely missed me. I thought that people like that must have so little that is positive in their lives that they took out their frustration on someone who was doing something good. |
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| GCR: | You formed a running club at Walpole State Prison and even conducted a marathon inside the prison yard which you won. How rewarding was it to work with those on the fringe of society? |
| DM | I admit, I was always a little nervous going in but also confident and felt good knowing I was helping to make a difference in their lives. The way I looked at it, many of them were getting out some day so I thought I would help them come out a better person than when they came in. |
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| GCR: | You ran the 1982 Boston Marathon blindfolded to raise money for the Carroll Center for the Blind. How difficult was it running without sight and what impact did this have on your future awareness in dealing with those who are sight-impaired? |
| DM | It wasn’t easy but you learn a sense of trust doing it, you have to as you have to trust your guides. It taught me about the benefits of being independent vs. having to have to depend on someone else. |
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| GCR: | Since you were 12 years old each August 22nd on your birthday you run miles equivalent to your age which has now surpassed 50. What inspired you to start at such a young age and how long do you reasonably think you can continue? Will you voluntarily end it at a certain age? |
| DM | It was just something that just happened. My goal is to just continue to do it until I can’t anymore. On my twelfth birthday I had run six miles in the morning which was a half mile each way to a pond and one loop around it. After my grandfather treated me to a bunch of ice cream I felt full and decided to get some more exercise which ended up being the same six miles. That night I thought it was pretty cool to have run the same number of miles as my age. The next year when I turned thirteen I ran 13 miles and so began an annual tradition that was usually done in multiple runs. Just as with my streak of racing the Boston Marathon I figure why let a streak end if it is something positive? Challenges keep me honest as they are ‘what I want to be.’ The sense of accomplishment each birthday is overwhelming. It’s further, I’m older and it’s more challenging. It is a very personal experience that’s almost indescribable. At age 51 I considered decreasing the run each year by a mile as I thought 40 miles at age 60, 20 miles at age 80 and just waking up at age 100 would be an accomplishment. I stopped in front of my house after 49 miles and spent a full hour trying to decide if I should stop or go ahead and do two more miles as this decision would have a profound effect on my streak. I finally did two one-mile loops and charted a new course. The next year I ran from the Boston Marathon finish to the start and back and added another mile each of the last two years. As long as I can I’ll keep adding another mile each year. |
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| GCR: | Perhaps the most amazing marathon you completed was when you swam 1,884 lengths of the Medford High School pool in 1983 for a total of 26.2 miles to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. What did you do to combat the physical soreness and mental fatigue? How draining and rewarding was this achievement? |
| DM | Played music under water, seriously, that really helped alleviate the boredom. It was tough mentally more than physically. Even though I am more of runner than a swimmer, my 24 hour run took more of a toll on me than the 24 hour swim. |
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| GCR: | You performed several other endurance feats in the early 1980s including: the East Coast Run of 1,520 miles from Winter Haven, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts; the Wrentham State School 24-Hour Run; the 1,522 mile new England Triathlon through six states; the Martha’s Vineyard Swim and the Jimmy Fund 24-hour bike ride where you biked 385 miles. In all cases you raised money for charities. Where did you come up with these big ideas and what in your youth and upbringing developed your fondness to help those who are less fortunate? |
| DM | I always wanted to continue to challenge myself, never looking back on accomplishment but rather looking forward to setting new goals. In my early years, I actually felt I was ’handicapped’ in a way, that I was ’vertically challenged.’ I was always the underdog so I suppose my desire to help those less fortunate stemmed from that as a child. |
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| GCR: | You founded the DMSE Children’s Fitness Foundation in 2003. What do you see as your role in helping to reverse the alarming unhealthy trends in children’s physical fitness in our country? Will you be enlisting the aid of any former Boston Marathon champions such as 1983 victor Greg Meyer who is promoting a similar effort in Michigan? |
| DM | I just feel that good health is the basis and foundation of everything else in life you do. Taking care of yourself is actually unselfish as you put yourself in a position then to help others. And it all starts with our youth. |
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| GCR: | Your 2006 book, ‘The Last Pick,' chronicled your career while encouraging readers to set and achieve goals by believing in their abilities. How did your childhood experience with different sports impact on your teenage years and adulthood? |
| DM | It taught me to never under estimate myself. A wonderful set of parents and great friends helped me throughout childhood. I was the youngest of five children and our family was great – sort of a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ type. I had tremendous support and a positive environment. I always wanted to make my parents proud of me and didn’t want to disappoint my support group. |
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| GCR: | Recently when I heard you speak at the Walt Disney World marathon Race Expo you said, 'When someone asks me what are my greatest accomplishments I don’t look back – I look ahead.' What are some of your goals and aspirations for the future as an athlete, race director, for charities and for your family? |
| DM | I don’t have a laundry list of thing I want to accomplish. I usually just come up with them along the way. Mainly, now, I want to be a good father to my children and continue to help those who I can. The only athletic accomplishment I set out to do and didn’t achieve was to swim the English Channel. I trained, went over, had a pilot boat and all necessary licenses but conditions were extremely bad for the ten-day period. I would like to attempt it but can’t train like I would need to with my prioritizing family and business. I talk in my book about ‘changing the rules’ of what defines success and for me it could possibly be a four person relay across the English Channel. |
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| | Inside Stuff |
| Nicknames | McGilla, Taz |
| Favorite movies | Ben Hur, Swiss Family Robinson |
| Favorite TV shows | ‘Hero to the people’ shows which inspired me as a child such as Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. I have no time to watch television now |
| Favorite songs | Short People |
| Favorite books | The Last Pick!! (Interviewer’s note – hmmm, promoting your own book…) |
| First car | 1967 Chevy Impala |
| Current car | Acura MDX |
| First job | Paper boy for the Boston Globe and a local newspaper. We didn’t get paid a salary as we worked for tips. Since I was a perfectionist the papers were always folded neatly, on time and placed on my customers’ doorsteps. Therefore I made about $20 per week in tips which wasn’t bad. I also learned at an early age about finances and saving. |
| Family, Children and Siblings | I have four brothers and a sister - I am the youngest. I have four children and a fifth on the way. |
| Pets | A fish named Nemo |
| Favorite meal | I’m pretty much an American food guy – steak, hamburgers and eggs. I’m not much of a fan of exotic foods. I love to say that eating is over rated, as is sleeping. As an aside, I hate the fact that I have to sleep so much each day. If someone lives 90 years and sleeps eight hours a day, they spend 30 years sleeping – what a waste! |
| Favorite breakfast | I enjoy coffee |
| Favorite beverages | I drink water, milk and juice daily. When it’s hot and I’m training I like electrolyte replacement drinks. I occasionally have a beer socially but no other alcohol |
| First running memory | Running the 50 yard dash in Billerica, MA as a five year old |
| Greatest running moment | Running into Fenway Park in 1978 at the end of my 'Run across America' |
| Worst running moment | Dropping out of the Boston Marathon in 1972 |
| Greatest race director moment | All of the events included in the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996 |
| Worst race director moment | Without a doubt it was at the 1988 Goodwill games Triathlon which was held in New York City. Despite two years of planning, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It started with a swim in the Hudson River and the water was very nasty as there was all sorts of stuff in it. The bike route through Manhattan toward Central park had a route change because a worker was killed two days earlier when scaffolding collapsed. A steam pipe broke race morning along the bike course and we had to take precautions since it wasn’t totally repaired to prevent serious injury to competitors. Then I got in a car accident during the race on the way to the Tavern on the Green transition area. It got worse as when I arrived runners were going in the wrong direction on the three loop course. We figured out the a park ranger had moved some cones, athletes missed a short turnaround and all of our planning went down the drain. I commandeered a motorcycle, communicated to most of the athletes and they did the out-and-back portion at the end. Unfortunately the runners in fourth, fifth and sixth place were foreigners who didn’t understand me and they dropped out. Instead of facing the International press I hid behind a tree for five minutes. Finally, Ted Turner and TBS Sports were gracious enough to come up with an additional $11,000 in prize money for the three racers who dropped out. They weren’t official finishers, but did get paid. What a nightmare! |
| Childhood dreams | To be a pro athlete as a baseball or basketball player |
| Funny memories | They always have been with my young children and the things they do and say sometimes. One day at McDonalds I asked my son, Max, what he’d like to eat. He responded, 'A cheeseburger without the cheese.' Another time at ‘Sail Boston’ the tall ships were sailing into the city and Max and I stopped by a booth where Pepsi was a sponsor. The representative asked Max what he’d like to drink. I was a little embarrassed when he said, 'How about a Coke?' |
| Embarrassing moment | Talking to 2,000 kids from the Jimmy Fund in Boston, totally screwing up what I wanted to say and accidentally insulting them – it was awful |
| Favorite places to travel | I like my own country the best. My favorite states are Florida and California |
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