Lake Bluff Resident Completes 'World Marathon Major'

LAKE BLUFF, IL - Millions of people run these days. Last weekend’s Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago featured more than 23,000 people on the course.

But only a fraction of those shufflers have run a marathon, a race covering 26.2 miles.

Even more rare are those who have completed the “World Marathon Major,” finishing the marathon milestone in six worldly cities: Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, New York City, London and Berlin.

But Lake Bluff resident David Mark is among just 600 or so in the world who have done just that.

Mark was among the first to complete the World Marathon Major Six Star medal since Abbott took over title sponsorship. While 600 or so others have completed all the courses, Mark was the first to do it as part of the sponsorship of Abbott Laboratories, the North Chicago-based healthcare company where he works.

“I feel very fortunate to have completed it,” said Mark, a 17-year employee of Abbott. “Over the course of the ten years, a lot of people have completed it. Some 20 year olds, some 80 year olds, but only 600 overall. So to be up on the stage to represent all those runners is very satisfying and personally fulfilling.”

Mark ran his first marathon in Chicago in 1988, but while he never gave up on running, the next 26.2 didn’t come until 2011. Four years later, he began the World Marathon Major, which includes the Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

He completed the milestone in Tokyo on Feb. 28.

“Those are all great races, all great cities,” Mark said. “But Chicago is my hometown and that’s my favorite. I love the great diversity, the culture, architecture, people and the music. The marathon in Chicago is a great 26 mile tour of the city.”

Up next for Mark is an Ironman race he is training for later this year.

At age 51, Mark finds motivation in training with others that have been doing it for even longer.

Running, he says, can help people not only stay physically fit, but in other aspects of life as well.

“It gives you the confidence to deal with challenges you might find at work or in everyday life. It helps clear your mind and provides clarity on being able to think about how to work through those challenges.”

Abbott became the title sponsor of the World Marathon Major in 2015, according to Chris Cavallaro, director of brand communications for Abbott’s Global Marketing Organization.

“The sponsorship is a good fit for us at Abbott since we are all about health, and marathons embody the idea that you can put a lot of work into something, get in great physical shape and accomplish your goal. That embodies who we are.”

Cavallaro said the company is proud of Mark, calling him “a microcosm of an Abbott marathon runner.”

“We have a lot of them here (marathoners),” Cavallaro said. “People like Dave have inspired other runners to set lofty goals like this.”

When Abbott runners aren’t marathoning themselves, they are cheering each other on. Mark says the Abbott Cheer Zone at the Tokyo marathon was as loud as anything he had here while running the 26.2.

“It was pretty exciting,” he said.

Exciting is a good way to describe running in general, Mark says.

“It’s great to see hundreds and hundreds of people applying for spots in all these races,” he said. “Hopefully it expands even more. It’s fantastic for the sport.”