Dave McGillivray Receives The Sports Museum Lifetime Achievement Award at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner

Boston Marathon Race Director and renowned endurance athlete honored for his decades of service to the community

BOSTON (January 18, 2019) – Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray received The Sports Museum Lifetime Achievement Award last night at the 80^th Annual Boston Baseball Writers Dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston.

The award was introduced several years ago to honor a civic or business leader with a connection to baseball who has made contributions that have positively impacted the community. McGillivray joins other greats such as the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the inaugural winner in 2014, and Robert Lewis, Jr., Stacey Lucchino, Pete Frates, and Lisa Scherber of the Jimmy Fund.

“We set the bar very high here,” said Rusty Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Sports Museum.  “The winner of this award needs to be a true champion of charity.  He or she needs to have given back over the long-term.  And he or she needs to have done so genuinely and selflessly.  Dave McGillivray fits the bill in all of these respects.  No one is more deserving.”

Other award recipients at the annual dinner included Boston Red Sox stars Mookie Betts, who received the Thomas A. Yawkey Memorial Award (Red Sox MVP), and Chris Sale, honored wih the Red Sox Pitcher of the Year Award. A complete list is posted at  http://sportsmuseum.org/event/boston-baseball-writers-dinner/.

“I am humbled and honored,” said McGillivray. “As a lifelong fan, this might be the closest I’ll ever get to being a player on the Red Sox! But seriously, The Sports Museum and the baseball writers are very kind to do this  and I’m so grateful for this award.”

Although McGillivray never achieved his childhood dream of playing second base for the Red Sox, his  connection to Fenway Park runs deep. In 1978, he completed his historic cross-country run from Medford, Oregon to Medford, Mass., raising nearly $100,000 for the Jimmy Fund of Boston, by running into Fenway Park before a Red Sox-Mariners game and completing a lap around warning track while fans and players stood and cheered. Last August , McGillivray celebrated the 40^th anniversary of that event by again running into Fenway Park prior to the Red Sox-Indians  game, where he was greeted at home plate by former Red Sox great Dwight Evans, a member of the 1978 team, and team owner Larry Lucchino.

McGillivray’s event management company, DMSE Sports, also manages the Run to Home Base and the Fenway Park Marathon, two fundraising events that take place in and around Fenway Park.  As such, McGillivray has run into or inside Fenway Park on eight different occasions.

McGillivray  is a  pioneer in what is now one of the most important aspects of the endurance sports industry – combining athletics with philanthropy. His  feats of endurance are legendary – and all for good causes. A partial list of his Jimmy Fund-related accomplishments in the years since includes: Run up East Coast, 1980 (1,520 miles); New England Triathlon, 1981 (1,522 miles); Martha’s Vineyard swim, 1982 (7 miles); 24-hour swim, 1983 (26.2 miles); and a 24-hour bike ride, 1986 (385 miles). Together with the DMSE-managed events, McGillivray has raised millions of dollars for charity over his career.

Additionally, he has completed nine Hawaii Ironman Triathlons and 155 marathons in all, including the World Marathon Challenge last  year – seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

McGillivray also has run 46 straight Boston Marathons, including the last 31 at night after completing his duties directing the world-famous race. He recently completed his annual birthday run – running his age in miles – and now has done so every year since age 12.

McGillivray, who lives in North Andover, Mass., is known as an inspirational speaker who gives talks to schoolchildren and a variety of groups throughout the country. He just published a children’s picture book called “Dream Big”, about his first attempt at running the Boston Marathon and based on his 2006 autobiography, “The Last Pick”, which intimately recounts the mental and physical obstacles McGillivray faced that led to his 1978 cross country run. His story has inspired countless people to reach their own goals. And in 2019, McGillivray will launch his second children’s illustrative book titled “Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home”, which chronicles his 1978 run.  Proceeds from the new book will benefit the Jimmy Fund.

McGillivray also has a story to tell about his health. In the fall of 2013, he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease and went public about it, urging others like him to get checkups and know that “being fit doesn’t mean being healthy.” That health scare prompted McGillivray to change his diet, eliminate stress and rededicate himself to fitness. He lost about 25 pounds and lowered his cholesterol level by more than 100 points, reversing his coronary disease by almost 50 percent. Ultimately, genetics won out and last October he underwent triple bypass surgery – but he was back running by December.

About the Sports Museum
In conjunction with the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), The Sports Museum is hosting the 80th annual Boston Baseball Writers Dinner with current and former Red Sox and Major League Baseball players, executives and other luminaries. The Sports Museum is a non-profit educational institution that has served Boston and New England for more than 40 years. Housed on Levels 5 and 6 of the TD Garden, it has more than a half-mile of exhibits celebrating sports in Boston (and beyond). The Sports Museum also provides character-building, transformative educational programs that help and positively impact at-risk kids throughout the city and region, including the award-winning Boston vs. Bullies, which has been experienced by more than 85,000 kids over the past five year.

About Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises
DMSE Sports is a full-service event-management organization, providing a full range of event and race production, management, and consulting services to support events of all sizes. Dave McGillivray and his team at DMSE Sports are responsible for the technical and logistical aspects of more than 30 races and walks per year. From overseeing organizing committees to working with local officials and handling registration, credentialing, lead vehicles, and course set up, DMSE Sports does it all. The firm has produced more than 1,000 events since opening its doors in 1981 and serves clients throughout the United States. Find more information at www.dmsesports.com.

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Dave McGillivray Athlete|Entrepreneur|MotivationalSpeaker|Philanthropist|Accomplisher

Athletic Accomplishments

• David McGillivray first gained national prominence in 1978 when he ran across the United States to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. Ran 3,452 miles from Medford, OR, to Medford, MA in 80 consecutive days, averaging 45 miles per day, to raise money for the Jimmy Fund, a charity which supports research towards eliminating cancer in children. This run ended in Fenway Park to a standing ovation by 32,000 fans. Since then, McGillivray has accomplished numerous other inspirational and charitable feats, as well as earned a reputation as one of the world’s premier race directors.
• In 1980, he entered the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon and finished 14th. He was the 30th person to have ever completed an Ironman. He completed the event again in 1983-1989 and in 2014 for a total of 9 times.
• Also in 1980, McGillivray ran the East Coast —1,250 miles from Winter Haven, Florida, to Boston, joined by Bob Hall, a pioneer in wheelchair marathoning, to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. They met with President Carter at the White House during the trek through Washington, D.C.
• In 1980 he ran 120 miles in 24 hours through 31 communities in southeastern MA for the “Run For Our Dreams Marathon.” The run ended in Foxboro Stadium (now Gillette Stadium) at halftime of a New England Patriots game. The ultra marathon benefited the Wrentham State School for the Mentally Retarded; it raised more than $10,000 for the handicapped.
• In 1981, he completed an ultra triathlon (ran, cycled and swam) of 1,522 miles throughout the six New England states, raising $55,000 for the Jimmy Fund. Unusual segments of the event included running up and down Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, swimming two miles across Lake Winnipesaukee, swimming 1-mile from Woods Hole, MA toward Martha’s Vineyard, running three miles with inmates inside Walpole State Prison, and finishing in Foxboro Stadium in front of 60,000 people.
• Officially completed his New England run by swimming more than seven miles from Martha’s Vineyard to Falmouth, MA, again raising more money for the Jimmy Fund. McGillivray was greeted by thousands on shore including some of the world’s greatest runners, including Alberto Salazar.
• McGillivray ran the 1982 Boston Marathon in a time of 3:14 while completely blindfolded and while being escorted by two guides. He raised more than $10,000 for the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA.
• In 1983, he swam for 24 consecutive hours in the Olympic-size Medford HS pool, swimming a total of 1,884 lengths and covering 26.27 miles (distance of the Boston Marathon) to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.
• That same year, he raised money for a scholarship fun for his alma mater, Merrimack College, by bicycling more than 1,000 miles throughout six New England states in 14 days.
• Again raising money for the Jimmy Fund, McGillivray biked for 24 consecutive hours around a five-mile loop course in Medford, MA while simultaneously directing the annual Bay State Triathlon, being held on the same course at the same time. He covered a total of 385 miles.
• In 2004, McGillivray ran across the country again, this time with nine other veteran marathoners, in relay style, from San Francisco to Boston as part of TREK USA, an event he founded and raised more than $300,000 for five children’s charities.
• In 2018, he completed the World Marathon Challenge, running 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents.
• He has run 155 marathons; 46 consecutive Boston Marathons (with 31 run at night after his race director duties are fulfilled)
• Marathon personal best: 2:29:58
• Ironman personal best: 10:36:42
• McGillivray has run his birthday age each year since he was 12 years old.

Professional Accomplishments

• Since 1988, he has been the Technical and Race Director of the Boston Marathon. He manages and oversees all technical and operational aspects of the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world.
• 2000 - Chosen Race Director of the Year by Road Race Management/Running Times Magazine
• 2000 - Lifetime Achievement Award by Competitor Magazine for more than 30 years of service to the sport of road racing and triathlons.
• 2003 – The DMSE Children’s Fitness Foundation was established with a focus on funding nonprofit organizations that use running as a vehicle to promote physical fitness in children.
• 2005 – Inducted into Running USA’s Hall of Champions.
• 2006 – Co-authored The Last Pick (Rodale Press) with Linda Glass Fechter. It chronicles his career while motivating and inspiring readers never to underestimate their own ability to set and achieve goals.
• 2007 – Named “Hero of Running” by Runner’s World Magazine
• 2009 – Awarded the prestigious “Jimmy Award” from the Jimmy Fund of Boston for his 30-year association and his work with helping to raise money to fund cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• 2011 – Inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame
• 2014 – Listed as #6 on Runner’s World Magazine’s “The 50 Most Influential People in Running”
• 2015 – Recipient of MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2017 – Inductee into the Road Runners Club of America Long Distance Running Hall of Fame, joined by Ryan Hall, Desiree Linden, and George Hirsch.
• 2018 – Co-authored Dream Big, with Nancy Feehrer, a children’s illustrative book based on his first attempts at running the Boston Marathon.
• McGillivray, DMSE Sports and his DMSE Children’s Foundation have raised more than $50 million for various charities, including: The Jimmy Fund, Carroll Center for the Blind, Cystic Fibrosis, Lazarus House, Massachusetts Dietetic Association, Massachusetts Special Olympics, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), Muscular Dystrophy Association, Sports Museum of New England, Wrentham State School.

Photos
Top: Dave McGillivray, Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, with Dick Johnson from The Sports Museumn
2nd: Dave McGillivray greeted by fans inside Fenway Park, 1978
3rd: Dave McGillivray's 40th anniversary of cross-county run, 2018
4th: Dave McGillivay with his Jimmy Fund "Heroes"
5th: Dave McGillivray raising money for Team MR8
6th: Dave McGillivray interviewed inside Fenway Park, 1978
 

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