BOSTON - When Black Hawk alum Dan Holverson suffered a heart attack 14 months ago, he wasn't sure if he would get the chance to run in a Boston Marathon.
Holverson, a 1974 Black Hawk graduate, has battled back and is looking forward to running in his first Boston Marathon today.
"It is such an honor to run the event, knowing that there are so very few that qualify to run it in the first place," Holverson said. "There is a lot of hard work that goes into preparing to run a marathon and I feel that this is also a validation that the training has paid off. I feel that it will be very emotional leading up to the start knowing that it is now actually happening, after wanting to do Boston for such a long time, especially given that I had a heart attack 14 months ago."
Holverson, who lives in Sanford, Florida with his wife Barbara, said he hopes to run the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 32 minutes, which is 8 minutes, 5 seconds a mile pace.
The Boston Marathon is one of the oldest and widely viewed sporting events in the U.S. The 26.2-mile race runs through Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline and the center of the City of Boston.
Holverson qualified for the Boston Marathon by running the Pace Coast Marathon in Melbourne, Florida in 3 hours, 39 minutes, 15 seconds. The qualifying time needed is 3:45:00. He runs in two marathons a year and about 20 races including 5 and 10K events.
Holverson followed a 16-week training program that builds mileage and intensity before tapering about three weeks before the Boston Marathon.
"The peak distance was about 60 miles," he said.
Holverson drinks 64 ounces of water and sports drinks before the race and 40 to 50 ounces while running.
"I still end up losing two to three pounds during a marathon," he said.
Holverson is also raising money for the American Heart Association.
After suffering a heart attack 14 months ago, Holverson is on a regimen that has been shown to reverse the effects of the disease in some patients, he says.
"This was only discovered by doing research and research costs money," he said. "I have been fortunate to raise several thousand dollars so far, but more is needed and every dollar counts."
Holverson, a 1974 Black Hawk graduate, has battled back and is looking forward to running in his first Boston Marathon today.
"It is such an honor to run the event, knowing that there are so very few that qualify to run it in the first place," Holverson said. "There is a lot of hard work that goes into preparing to run a marathon and I feel that this is also a validation that the training has paid off. I feel that it will be very emotional leading up to the start knowing that it is now actually happening, after wanting to do Boston for such a long time, especially given that I had a heart attack 14 months ago."
Holverson, who lives in Sanford, Florida with his wife Barbara, said he hopes to run the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 32 minutes, which is 8 minutes, 5 seconds a mile pace.
The Boston Marathon is one of the oldest and widely viewed sporting events in the U.S. The 26.2-mile race runs through Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline and the center of the City of Boston.
Holverson qualified for the Boston Marathon by running the Pace Coast Marathon in Melbourne, Florida in 3 hours, 39 minutes, 15 seconds. The qualifying time needed is 3:45:00. He runs in two marathons a year and about 20 races including 5 and 10K events.
Holverson followed a 16-week training program that builds mileage and intensity before tapering about three weeks before the Boston Marathon.
"The peak distance was about 60 miles," he said.
Holverson drinks 64 ounces of water and sports drinks before the race and 40 to 50 ounces while running.
"I still end up losing two to three pounds during a marathon," he said.
Holverson is also raising money for the American Heart Association.
After suffering a heart attack 14 months ago, Holverson is on a regimen that has been shown to reverse the effects of the disease in some patients, he says.
"This was only discovered by doing research and research costs money," he said. "I have been fortunate to raise several thousand dollars so far, but more is needed and every dollar counts."
