Chiropractor Aligns Running with Wellness Goals

Name: Dan Meininger

Age: 45

Marathon experience: Dan will be running his first Boston Marathon, the culmination of a goal he set five years ago to qualify and run Boston at age 45. He has run four prior marathons in the last five years.

Reason for running: Dan, owner of Meininger Family Chiropractic in Westborough, advises his patients on lifetime family wellness. When Dan became a dad ten years ago, he began to take his own cardiovascular fitness more seriously. “I started running in order to improve my health and be a better role model for my kids,” he said. At 40, he set his sights on qualifying for Boston, working for five years to increase his running pace and stamina. “I set a five-year goal to qualify for Boston,” he said. “I qualified last fall, three days before I turned 45.” Dan’s qualifying times was just 17 seconds under the cutoff time for his age group.

Training tip: With a busy chiropractic business and two young boys, Dan knew he couldn’t afford to get behind in his training schedule. “I gave myself a three week cushion for family events or illnesses,” he said. “I had a cold one weekend, we went away one weekend… it worked perfectly."