First Time Marathon Man Runs for Missing and Exploited Children

Twenty years ago, Northborough resident Justin Davidson was an intense ski racing competitor. He even attended Mount Snow Academy, where he trained and skied more than 120 days a year with Olympic coaches from the United States Ski Association.

"It's there that I learned how to train in a systematic fashion," Davidson said. "Part of that training included a daily running routine. I am used to attacking something that others would consider outrageous or too hard and thus I am giving this my best shot."

By "this," he is referring to the Boston Marathon, which he'll run for the first time ever this year.

Northborough Patch caught up with the runner, who has lived in Northborough since 2007 with his wife and three kids, to talk about his preparation and motivation to tackle this monumental race.

Northborough Patch: This is your first year running the Boston Marathon - what made you want to tackle it this year?
Justin Davidson: This is my first marathon. An opportunity came up at Earthlink in which a 1500+ people had the opportunity win one of three slots in the Boston Marathon, and only 11 applied, due to the fact that it's hard.  A few ran it the previous year and some of the higher level VPs who had first dibs decided this was not their year. I won a slot. Earthlink provides the web hosting and tracking of all entrants. 

NP: Do you run in any other races, and are you a lifelong runner?
JD: The last race that I ran was the corporate challenge in the late '90s. As of 40 weeks ago, I started back as a lifelong runner. Prior to that I was not working out at all. I was getting pretty good at being a lifelong excuse maker to not working out.  After I wrote down ever excuse I could think of I laughed and decided to be more honest with myself. Rather than putting a weight goal that could be obtained and ultimately be checked off a list as an excuse to stop running, I decided to set a lifelong goal targeting 15 miles per week forever.  

NP: Are you running the Marathon in the name of anything?
JD: The cause that I am running for is Missing and Exploited Children, but that was not my original driver to run.  Like Forrest Gump, one day I woke up and just felt like running without ever considering a marathon as the ultimate goal.

NP: What is your training like? Do you run every day - for how long? Do you change your diet when training for a race?
JD: My training consists of running 3 days a week.  Typically, I run two times six-mile sets and then a 10 mile long-run on the weekend.  Of course, this is something that I have built up to.  My typical run is between one hour (six miles) and one hour and 33 minutes (10 miles).  As for my race diet, I stay away from anything fiberous, fatty, or dairy.  I eat pasta, bagles, oatmeal, rice and bananas.  I want to eat foods that do not try to make my stomach process while I am running.

NP: What attracts you to running?
JD: That it's simple.  I live and operate in high-tech every day.  The fact that I only need a pair of shoes on my feet is what I find comforting.  It's the same thing that I like about push-ups.  Just fall-over a few times.  No videos, trainers, or expensive equipment. 

NP: Do you play any other sports?
JD: I am a skier and I play in a golf league.