Dave McGillivray

About Dave

• Always wanted to be an athlete, but was picked last, cut from teams because he was so short; got into running because "no one can cut you."
• Entered Boston Marathon at age 16; his grandfather said he'd meet him at mile 24; Dave collapsed at mile 16 or 17, was taken to the hospital.
• Called his grandfather, who said, "Well, you learned...I'll be there next year waiting, but you've gotta train this time."
• His grandfather passed away two months later-this inspired him to train like crazy, but he got a stomach virus the night before the race.
• Still attempted to run even though he was sick, sat down at mile 21, realized he was sitting right in front of cemetery where his grandfather was buried.
• His grandfather had lived up to his commitment to be there; to honor that, he dragged himself across the finish line; vowed to run the race every year.
• Visited Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; wanted to do something special for them; ran across the country in 80 days to raise funds for them.
• Finished the cross-country race at Fenway Park in front of 32,000 people who gave him a 10-minute standing ovation.