535. Beyond the Run with Dave McGillivray

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2022

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"I’m like, 'Oh this isn’t good! I’m locked inside of my own porta-john, 15 minutes before the start of the most prestigious marathon in the world, that I’ve been working on with everyone else for a year!' And I’m in a porta-john, and no one can hear me. And if I shake it too much, it’s gonna fall over, and that’s not good! Helicopters are circling above us, so you can’t hear very well, so no one’s hearing that I’m locked in the porta-john. So I had a choice…"

Dave McGillivray is best known as the longtime race director for the Boston Marathon. (And every year, after fulfilling his race director duties, Dave returns to the start line in Hopkinton, MA, where he runs the marathon himself.) Dave is the president and founder of his own company, DMSE Sports, which is an event management business in Boston that has produced, directed, and consulted on more than 1,600 events around the world. Dave has run more than 165 marathons, he's an Ironman triathlete, and he's a World Marathon Challenge finisher. In this conversation, we go beyond Dave's personal and professional accolades — less about the logistics, and more on what drives him and what he gets out of doing all of this. We talk about what it really took to pull off directing two Boston Marathons in a six-month span. (If you remember, the 2021 Boston Marathon took place on October 11 because of the pandemic.) Dave shares some of his favorite Boston Marathon memories (including an unforgettable porta-potty story), and answers the question we're all asking: "Is racing back?"

SPONSOR: New Balance — Click here to learn more about how New Balance is supporting conversations around mental wellness in running. (And check out my current favorite bra, pullover, and crop top.)

What you’ll get on this episode:

What’s making Dave happy right now (4:05)
Dave’s Boston Marathon porta-potty story (10:50)
What were the greatest challenges in pulling off two Boston Marathons in a six-month span? (14:00)
On being a local celebrity on race weekends, and how Dave takes care of himself during extraordinarily busy times (24:35)
All about Dave’s 50^th running of the Boston Marathon (33:30)
Dave’s most memorable Boston Marathon moments (44:30)
Is racing back? (1:02:00)
What hasn’t Dave done? (1:06:00)

For more, check out:

Dave McGillivray on Episode 424 of the Ali on the Run Show

“The Future of Running” Live Show

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by New Balance.
0:04.4	Go to newbalance.com slash Beyond the Run to learn more about how New Balance is
0:09.5	supporting the conversation around running and mental wellness.
0:17.6	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Alley Feller and this is Beyond the Run.
0:23.9	This series comes your way twice a month on The Alley on the Run Show and
0:27.6	Michael with these conversations is to talk about running and mental wellness and the connection
0:33.5	between the two. We do that by hearing from a mix of industry professionals, professional athletes
0:39.8	and everyday runners. My guest today is Returning Favorite Dave McGilvery. Dave is best known as the
0:47.6	longtime race director for the Boston Marathon and the last time that he was here which was back in
0:52.6	September that was episode 424. We talked a lot about Boston because at the time Dave and the Boston
0:59.7	Athletic Association were hustling getting ready for the first ever Boston Marathon in October.
1:07.2	Since then Dave, the BAA and so many others who are deeply involved not only pulled off in
1:13.8	October Boston Marathon they then did something they had never done before. They hosted another
1:19.5	Boston Marathon just six months later on its original date on the third Monday and April 2022.
1:27.6	So this time around I wanted to get inside the mind of Dave McGilvery a bit more.
1:32.1	Less about the logistics which we focused on quite a bit last time and more on what drives him
1:37.5	as a person and what he gets out of doing all of this. Because Dave doesn't just work for the
1:42.6	Boston Marathon, he runs his own company, DMS East Force and he's a tremendous athlete himself.
1:48.3	You may recall that every year after getting things officially off and running in Hopkins, Dave makes
1:54.2	his way to the Boston Marathon finish line and then goes back to the start and does the whole thing
1:59.2	again himself, my foot, the marathon at the end of the marathon. Today we learn more about what
2:06.4	running means to Dave. We get to hear some of his favorite Boston Marathon memories. I love that
	...

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