Running through Retirement

Retirement: World’s longest coffee break. ~Author Unknown

Running is something many of us do because we love some aspect of it — the racing, the act of running itself, how it makes us feel or look, the feel of freedom and escape on the trail or road; it is different for each one of us.

The international-caliber Ottawa marathon is on the weekend and I presumed a friend who had run a marathon last weekend would be taking a break, I was wrong. Running is what Dave seems to do a lot of, including back-to-back marathons. Dave Nevitt is from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and is someone who I doubt is looking at retirement as the world’s longest coffee break. Dave has created himself a retirement, at an age that allows him to explore, push and enjoy some of his running goals, one of them being to reach his 100th marathon, a goal he is fast approaching.

Dave
Entering the world 52 years ago Dave lives and has lived most of his life across the harbour from Nova Scotia’s capital city (Halifax) in Dartmouth. He lives with his wife who he describes as very tolerant and has two grownup sons Craig and Eric. I met Dave when I lived in Nova Scotia and when I ran the road races throughout the province, and as I got faster would often find myself right behind or right in front of Dave in a 10k.

Dave is an average height dark-haired runner who has been a regular on the running circuit and in the community for the last twenty-two years. Running very respectable times at his peak and running with some of the top runners at the time (including a very fast couple of Cabot Trail Relay teams). Dave has collected a wide spectrum of PB’s including a 4:46 mile, 34:49 10K, 2:44 marathon and a 100-miler in 23:44.08. Dave was always someone I feared when I battled him, he was always strong and seemed so even-paced, Dave would always creep up if I ever slowed. I have always envied Dave’s tenacity and even pace (I have always struggled with both) and now I envy Dave for ability to run and explore during his retirement.

Retirement
Dave took his last pay cheque and retired from Nova Scotia Power in 2010 where he had worked as a Pension Administrator. For Dave running and retirement went hand in hand. Having run nearly 600 races of almost every distance and on a wide variety of surfaces, including 92 (at time of this blog) marathons and 9 ultra marathons, Dave still holds a passion for running and when he retired he knew how he wanted to spend his time some of that time. Dave says he is not expecting to set new PB’s in the future and his goals are now more focused on the quality of the experience than on speed. Dave says this but also mentions that he is not backing off racing for an age group win now and then and is still collecting hardware. Dave also believes that he can still run another sub 3-hour marathon. I tracked Dave down and had a few questions for him.

What keeps your running interesting and what keeps you running?
“In the past several years I have been able to travel further from home to compete in some interesting locales and events. I am especially attracted to races that bill themselves as a challenge. I have completed the Gasparilla Michelob Ultra Challenge (15K, 5K, Marathon) in Tampa Florida several times. I have also done the Bermuda Triangle Challenge (1 mile, 10K, Marathon) and the Warrior Challenge (1 mile, 5K, Marathon) in Maui. I competed in the first Boston to Big Sur Challenge, which was a marathon on each coast in only 6 days.”

“The social aspect of running also makes it a lot of fun. I train with a great group of friends and belong to several running clubs. Some of the best racing experiences for me have been competing as part of a team at the Rum Runner and Cabot Trail Relays, the annual road trips to the Boston Marathon with my Saturday morning training partners and running ultra marathons with friends serving as my support crew and pacers.”

What are your plans after your 100th marathon?
“My most immediate goal is to complete my 100th marathon before the end of 2012. Over the longer term, I hope to run marathons in the three provinces I haven’t completed, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and to visit as many of the 34 US states that I haven’t run a marathon in.”

Dave when not standing still seems to be running or planning another running adventure. When he is not focused on his won running Dave also contributes to the running community and is currently the race director for the Dartmouth Natal Day races; one of Canada’s oldest running events.

Dave recently ran his 92nd marathon at Nova Scotia Bluenose marathon on May 20th, finished 8th overall and won his age group in 3:06. Seven days before reached his goal of a sub 3-hour marathon at the Fredericton marathon in New Brunswick Run on Dave. Many of us are envious and many will be inspired.
Good luck and see you in Ottawa Dave!

If you have an interesting running story – I want to hear about it.
legsnlungs@hotmail.com

See you on the roads or in the blogosphere.