BOSTON MARATHON RACE DIRECTOR DAVE MCGILLIVRAY TO BE FEATURED ON NBC SPORTS IN IRONMAN RECAP SHOW
TV show to profile inspirational athletes, including McGillivray, who completed the 2014 Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii
BOSTON — Dave McGillivray, race director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and president of DMSE Sports, Inc., will be featured with other inspirational athletes on NBC Sports on Saturday in a show about the 2014 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, an endurance event he completed last month after a 25-year absence from the event.
The show airs from 1:30 to 3 p.m. EST on NBC. In addition to recapping the event, the program will profile McGillivray along with four other competitors with heartwarming stories: Olympic speedskater Apolo Ohno, Italian Paralympian and former race car driver Alex Zanardi, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi and Lisa Hallett, a mother who lost her husband in Afghanistan.
McGillivray, 60, is a member of the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame and completed eight Ironman Triathlons in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in the 1980s. He finished 14th overall in 1980, the third year for the event, making him one of the first 30 athletes to ever finish an Ironman, considered the world’s toughest endurance event.
McGillivray attended an official screening of the show Wednesday night in New York. “At the post screening interview, Apolo Ohno said his goal was to break 10 hours. I told the audience my goal was to finish before Thanksgiving,” he said.
McGillivray finished the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike leg and marathon run in 13 hours, 34 minutes and 3 seconds. His impressive result came almost one year to the day – Oct. 9, 2013 – from his diagnosis of severe coronary heart disease. The health scare prompted McGillivray to change his diet, eliminate stress and rededicate himself to fitness. He also set a goal to make a triumphant return to Hawaii for his ninth Ironman – but first since 1989.
Since then, McGillivray, a Medford, Mass. native who now lives in North Andover, Mass., has lost about 25 pounds and lowered his cholesterol level by about 100 points, reducing the disease by about 40 percent. He also went public with his disease in hopes of urging others like him to get checkups and helping them understand that “being fit doesn’t mean being healthy.”
DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. In addition to the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, DMSE manages more than 25 major road races per year, including the TD Beach to Beacon in Maine, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the Finish at the 50 at Patriot Place, Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, Va., the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wis., the Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race and the Across the Bay 10K in Annapolis, Maryland, among others. For more info, visit www.dmsesports.com.