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‘Great things are hidden in all of us’ |
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
Dan Holt of Kettle Falls finishes Boston Marathon
On April 21, Dan Holt of Ket¬tle Falls had the honor of run¬ning the 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest an¬nual marathon. The Boston Marathon is also significant be¬cause it is the only American marathon that requires runners to meet a qualifying standard.
Many people run, but few take on the challenge of running a marathon. Of marathon run¬ners, only a small percentage find it within themselves to make the cut for the Boston Marathon.
Achieving a qualifying slot for the Boston Marathon became Holt’s goal in the fall of 2005. Over the next 2 ½ years, he fo¬cused on making it into the Boston Marathon. He began running in February 2005 with the idea of participating in Spo¬kane’s Bloomsday that spring.
Bloomsday was such a posi¬tive experience that he became intrigued with the idea of run¬ning greater distance. In late July 2005, he completed the San Francisco Marathon.
Lifestyle change
By this time, a lifestyle change was underway. He entered the Leavenworth Half-Marathon as a motivator “to keep the good things happening.”
At that half-marathon, Holt was able to cover the distance at nearly a Boston Marathon quali¬fying pace and the dream was born.
Holt was going to get to Bos¬ton.
Holt prepared throughout the winter of 2005/2006 to make a spring attempt at qualifying. He ran the Whidbey Island Mara¬thon in April 2006 and made a tremendous improvement over San Francisco. But he missed qualifying by 15 minutes.
Undeterred, Holt spent all summer training for another at¬tempt in the fall. He ran a hard paced, “reckless” marathon in September 2006 in Skagit County. Holt said he felt “de¬feated” when he had to drop out after 24 miles.
One month later, Holt took to the Spokane Marathon with a humble goal of just finishing.
With a more relaxed attitude and a more reasonable first half pace, the Spokane Marathon was where Holt managed to qualify for his ultimate goal—the Boston Marathon.
Holt said he found challenging ways to maintain his marathon fitness for the next year-and-a-half. In that time, he completed the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Triath¬lon and ran a trail Marathon in the Grand Teton Mountains.
“Both events would have stood alone as grand achieve¬ments for me, but I never stopped dreaming about crossing the finish line in Boston,” Holt recalled.
On race day in Boston last month it was cool and overcast as the runners waited for the starting gun to sound.
Moments before the start of the National Anthem, military jets flew over the course and the sun broke through the clouds, Holt recalled.
Could it get any better than this?
Everything seemed so effort¬less as the parade of runners snaked down the route to Bos¬ton.
“The course was crowded with spectators for the entire dis¬tance,” Holt remembered. “There are many emotional ups and downs during a marathon, but the crowd never stopped cheering.”
All those ‘Cardiac Hills’ took a toll
All of Holt’s preparation and years of conditioning were neces¬sary to get through the last few painful miles as the legendary hills of the Boston Marathon be¬gan to exact a toll.
During those tough miles, Holt said he thought about all the people who believed he could do it.
Holt pushed on.
Finally, the line was in sight and Holt’s goal had been achieved. He crossed the finish line in 3:26.49 hours to finish in the top 26 percent of all starters.
Would he do it again?
“Everything about the Boston Marathon exceeded my expecta¬tions,” he said when it was all over. “Boston truly was a reward for all the miles.”
Holt said he hopes his journey can inspire others.
“Our dreams can come true when pursued with passion,” Holt said. “Running in the Bos¬ton Marathon is just one exam¬ple. Great things are hidden in all of us.”
Dan Holt reaches his goal and runs in the Boston Marathon.
Holt stands on Boston Marathon starting line.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 May 2008 )
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