MCGILLIVRAY RECREATES MEDFORD2MEDFORD RUN
WICKED LOCAL MEDFORD
Participants challenged to log 3,452 miles in 80 days
Forty-two years after his first finish, Dave McGillivray broke through the tape in front of Medford City Hall just after 9 a.m. on Saturday morning after running the last mile of this year’s virtual Medford2Medford run.
In 1978, McGillivray, now the race director for the Boston Marathon, ran 3,452 miles through 14 states from Medford, Ore. to Medford, Mass. in 80 days, raising $100,000 for the Jimmy Fund which supports children’s cancer research.
“It’s humbling to think that 42 years ago to this day I was standing right here on the steps of Medford City Hall after completing a 3,452-mile run,” McGillivray told a small crowd awaiting him at the finish.
This year, McGillivray sought to recreate his epic journey in the era of COVID-19. Runners from all across the country could sign up as individuals or teams to run 3,452 miles in 80 days anywhere in the country, logging the miles as they went.
In the end, around 1,600 runners participated, among them seven Olympians, six Boston Marathon champions and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. The event raised almost $60,000 for 20 different charities, according to McGillivray.
McGillivray said despite all the differences between his original run and this year’s edition, his motivation remains the same.
“I knew at the time that the battle I was about to fight by running more than 5 1/2 million footsteps across America was in no way as difficult as the battle these kids are fighting for their own life,” he said.
Still running for Medford
Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and Councilors Adam Knight, Nichole Morell, and Richard Caraviello were all on hand to welcome McGillivray to City Hall.
“In 1978, I wasn’t around, but Dave was hereafter running 3,452 miles for the Jimmy Fund, and if you look back and see the pictures, you were inspiring then, and you are inspiring now,” the mayor said. “We are happy to call you a resident of Medford still.”
Lungo-Koehn participated in the virtual run, logging about 150 running and biking miles over the last 80 days.
“If you were a golfer, I don’t know if we’d be standing here,” McGillivray joked.
Caraviello went to Medford High School with McGillivray in the 1970s and recalled the original run.
“I remember watching the newspaper every day for the little updates of how Dave was doing,” the councilor said. “I’m glad he’s still here running for Medford.”
Remembering a runner
The runners gathered under overcast skies on Saturday were not just celebrating McGillivray’s finish, but also the life of Brian Lyons, the man who made this year’s race happen.
McGillivray said his long-time friend and fellow runner Lyons urged him to recreate the race despite the pandemic. Tragically, Lyons passed away just days after McGillivray discussed the idea with him.
“I knew right then and there that we have to do this run across America,” McGillivray said. “This was his idea, and we just finished it.”
The Lyons family presented McGillivray with Lyons’ 2017 Boston Marathon medal while he presented them with the break tape he had crossed that morning.
“The Medford2Medford race is about the journey to accomplishing your dreams while helping others. That pretty much sums up how Brian lived his entire life’s journey,” Lyons’ fiancée Sandy Lehane said.
After the ceremony, McGillivray was back on the road. He and several other runners, including the mayor, set off to finish the last seven miles to Fenway Park where the original run ended more than four decades ago.