Dan started running seven years ago, usually running about one and a half miles at a time. When a friend suggested he run a marathon, he did, but it wasn’t until after that he started seriously training. By March 2005, Dan signed up for his first full marathon, the Bataan Death March.

“The first time I ran the Bataan I was really questioning the sanity of it,” Dan says of the march that is known for the rough desert terrain. “If you are going to run a marathon, you probably shouldn’t start with the Bataan.”

Since that first time running the Bataan in 2005, Dan has participated in the Bataan Death March two other times, and has run a total of eight marathons. After receiving qualifying times at two different marathons in 2008, he participated in the Boston Marathon April 20, 2009.

The Boston Marathon requires a qualifying time based on age groups from a certified qualified race. Dan was required to run a 3-hour 45-minute qualifying time and met that time by running a 3-hour 38-minute qualifying time. At the Boston Marathon, Dan ran a 3-hour 45-minute 45-second time, which placed him 11,905 out of 23,849 participants that finished.

“In 2007 I came up seven minutes short for the Boston Marathon. I thought ‘I can do that’ so it became sort of an obsession,” Dan says.

Recently Dan started training with the Run Less, Run Faster training schedule developed at the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST). He runs three days a week, averaging about 30 miles a week, in addition to running his own business, Diemer Building and Remodeling, Inc.

“I didn't want to embarrass myself at the Boston Marathon so I trained enthusiastically,” Dan says.

Dan started running to get in shape, and when his wife died, he ran just to get out of bed in the morning.

“It always feels good when I run. I feel healthier for the effort,” Dan says, admitting he also feels he is accomplishing something many people can not. “I feel like I am part of a very elite group. To me, part of the challenge is I can do something most people can’t.”

It is estimated between 300,000 and 400,000 people finished a certified marathon last year, and in the Boston Marathon, 25,000 are allowed to compete. The fact that Dan was one of the 25,000 does prove he is part of an elite group.

“If you are going to run a marathon, you have to figure out how to do it, but you also have to enjoy what you are doing,” Dan says. “You have to train, but go at it slowly. Running a marathon is not necessarily about time, it’s about survival.”