11 Bostons, 100 Marathons & The Nose Touch That Changed Everything | Dr. Mark Denny

DFW Running Talk: Dr. Mark Denny - Boston Marathon
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Chris Detzel: [00:00:00] Welcome to DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel, so let's get started.

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Alright, welcome to another DFW Running Talk. I'm Chris Detzel. And before we get into our special guest we're doing 10 podcasts, 10 to 15 minutes about runners in the DFW area. And so we have Mark Denny as our next guest. So Mark, how's it going?

Mark Denny: Good, good. Thanks for inviting me.

Chris Detzel: You're welcome. And thanks to Dustin Rochan again.

He, I'm gonna call him out for a second or third time. In these podcasts for making the introduction. Mark, you've run 11, 12 Boston marathons. Let's go back to why you've run so many. Let's go back to the first,

Mark Denny: Probably of all the marathons I've done, of course, anybody that has, Boston's my favorite.

And I guess I ran my first one in 2000. Okay. And now, 26 years later I get to do it again or 27, yeah. Been part of that program of of course everyone who runs, wants to someday run Boston. I was able to get in and do that and so thankful for doing that. Thankful for [00:02:00] it, and looking forward to it.

Again, the last one I ran was 21 in 2021. That actually happened to be my hundredth marathon and my 10th Boston is all, is his last one. So that was a real special day. I thought maybe that would be probably the. End of my marathon career, but decided to kinda keep it going,

Chris Detzel: that's awesome. A hundred plus marathons pretty crazy.

You're keeping going. You told me a little story about one of the Bostons about the bomb. I'm interested to hear a little bit about that and some people you met on the bus.

Mark Denny: Probably the reason I still, and it really completely changed my perspective. In 2013, I was on a bus heading to the starting line.

I was part of this American Medical Runner's Association that they it's mostly all doctors. They kind of plant you out on the course and we were able to get into the marathon that way. And but anyway, we had our own bus. I'm sitting on the bus driving out to the starting line, and as we, as all runners do, it's quiet as a mouse.

Everyone's counting their go packets and going through their processes, going to the finish [00:03:00] line. And there was two older gentlemen in the back of the bus, two older doctors sitting in the back of the school bus and they're hooting and hollering, laughing. I was a little bit annoyed by their joy, so I wandered back, sit down in between 'em, I said, you guys are obviously on the wrong bus.

And they both looked at me and I go, do, realize where we're going here? And and they they're laughing. I go, tell me your story. And they go First, tell me yours. And I said, i've run 60, of course any runner loves people to ask you about it.

I've run 60, this would be my seventh Boston or whatever. And and he goes, that's pretty good. And they go, he goes, Ralph, or whatever his name is, he goes, how many since is this for you? And he goes, is it your 38th or 39? He goes, no, it's my 41st. I go, wait a minute, you've run 41 Bostons. And and he got another guy's running like 30 something.

I go, how old are you guys? One guy was 78, the other guy was 81. Wow. And I kinda I was telling him I was frustrated. I got put in the third crowd instead of the second. And I'm getting slower. And my friends, a lot of my friends have stopped running and I don't know, this may be it.

And the guy literally put his nose into mine. [00:04:00] And touched my nose. And he goes, it's not about the race, it's about the journey. And you could write a book on that. Yeah. And then I go, you're right. And then he continually to work me over a little bit and he goes, you know what? I may be the last one to cross the finish line, but I'm still in the game.

And he leaned in and touched my nose again when I, it's touching it. Nose the nose. Yeah. And I looked at him and I leaned back and touched his nose and I said, I want to be you and I. He goes, quit worrying about your time. Quit worrying about, he goes, enjoy yourself. Look at the crowd. And I realized this is Seventh Foster, and I probably never even looked at anybody.

I was trying to find the quickest line and didn't look at the crowd and. He really changed my whole perspective on that. And I could tell you a long, much longer story about what happened at the end, with all that. But then that may be a feature podcast, but it's it was a, yeah, it was a day that changed my life and it also, it's given me a joy, a new joy of running in, in my senior years.

That's,

Chris Detzel: I love that. That's,

Mark Denny: how are you, mark? Because we

Chris Detzel: didn't,

Mark Denny: that's Nate. [00:05:00] I'm six, I'm 67.

Chris Detzel: Okay.

Mark Denny: So I was really motivated. Then I have a good friend of mine, Craig Falwell, that he's 15 years younger than I am. We, we've been running together for 10 years. If you're ever at Y Rock Lake on Saturday mornings around six to eight, that's we, I go.

Counterclockwise at White Rock Lake. But anyway we run together and then we, after this we decided we'd run the continents and, got accepted to Antarctica meds. So we started with that one. And then, in 20 23, 24 and 21 months, we ran all seven continents. So he's my buddy and we're actually, I'm actually going with him.

We were both accepted to Boston, so him and his wife and my wife and I are gonna be going to Boston coming up next week. Looking forward to that.

Chris Detzel: I love that. Do you run with him mostly or do you run with the running group at all, or what does that look like?

Mark Denny: No, him and I Craig and I run on Saturdays, and then during the week we run on our own.

We, okay. And I've had several groups of several guys that I've run with through the years and then some have not been able to run, with pickup, but I run on [00:06:00] my own and with some of my old, older friends in, around town on the, or actually run on. During the week, I run on the golf course over here by my house, canyon Creek.

And I run early in the morning with lights and I think running on grass the last 20 years has really extended my running life, running career. And and that's been very helpful. And then I wanna run at White Rock on Saturdays. Yeah,

Chris Detzel: you're probably right about

Mark Denny: that. No, I haven't been part of big group other than just, yeah.

What's that? Yeah. You know the grass

Chris Detzel: you've

Mark Denny: been running for a long time think's been very helpful.

Chris Detzel: Yeah.

Mark Denny: Yes.

Chris Detzel: So tell me a little bit about this coming up 2026 Boston Marathon and what you're excited about. You get to go with friends your wife, and things like that.

Mark Denny: We fortunately got, what I look forward to is Boston, the whole, if you love the town the food go the north end and have Italian food go to Mike's.

What is it? Michael's bakery or, and get to con canals, uhhuh, all that kind of stuff and do all the sites. We're staying at the Lennox Hotel, which is right on the finish line. So my wife gets to do it. And you know what my wife really loves more about [00:07:00] Boston is, Newberry Street is, the streets that parallels.

A big shopping district. When I'm off running a marathon, she's got full, access to the shop and she'll come back and see the the elites come through, and then she'll wait for the, she'll come and wait for me to come in through. But she'll have a few packages under her, with that.

So that's fun. So my, I have, we, I've, through the years had brought my, I have three daughters and they, they've been able to come through the years. And we just, Boston's just a special place. It's a special marathon. Like any, I was here, I was there the year also, they had the North Easter.

Being from Texas, I never really knew what a nor Easter was. I heard about 'em until that year. They almost shut the marathon down. I can't remember which year that was. And they almost closed it. And but they kept it open. And of course, Boston is a point to point running from west to east, nor Easter goes blowing right in it.

So we had a. It was colder than Antarctica. When I ran Antarctica. They were probably similar, but it was it was a pretty miserable day, but it was still a wonderful experience. So [00:08:00]

Chris Detzel: it's fun to see all the runners, especially on a cold day. They're all, in their sheets. Super cold.

Yeah. Trying to get back to wherever they're trying to get to and hurry in. But they can't hurry because their legs hurt so bad,

Mark Denny: yeah. Oh yeah. It's, yeah, everybody, you wonder why you keep doing this to yourself, but it's

Chris Detzel: yeah.

Mark Denny: It's one of those things just as and if I sign up for something.

It forces you out the door. It's a mental thing. Yeah. It's a lifestyle that I've, again, my first one was 26 now, 40 years later I'm still able to do it. Thankful I've had to adjust. I've had, as I, everyone, a few injuries back, knees and stuff that are about, but, I.

Just modifying and not doing as many miles now, but, getting it done and you gonna go have fun and do what you have to do with it. Yeah. It's, it's life about adjust. It's all about, adjustments. And, you know what, like what the older gentleman said, it's not about, it's not about the race, it's not about Boston.

It's about the journey to getting there and whatever. And there's a lot of, there's a, that's, you can do a sermon on that. It was really main, you could do a sermon

Chris Detzel: on that.

Mark Denny: Yeah. Yeah.

Chris Detzel: I love that. [00:09:00] What's next for you? Do you plan on over the next few years trying to get back into Boston and doing it, more times or?

Mark Denny: Yeah. If I can and I would, always would love to go back. But actually we're thinking, so since we've done the continent my friend Craig has not finished some of the majors and yeah, so he still has London and. So we did ne we did New York back in November, this past November.

We're gonna Boston and we're already accepted to Chicago. So we're gonna here, we're gonna finish the majors. And I decided I might, if I can stay healthy, do another world major again. I make where plan is to do Chicago this November and. Then London next a year from now, and then probably then Berlin in the fall.

Okay. If it all goes well, that's the, and then, off to Tokyo again. And we ran Cape Town and South Africa and Cape Town and Sydney already. If Cape Town ever becomes one, we've probably got it knocked out. So anyway, but may try, I may try a second [00:10:00] loop is what I'm

Chris Detzel: thinking.

I do have a question that I meant to ask you in the beginning, but just what was your fastest marathon time? What was the best that you ever did?

Mark Denny: Three 20. I'm a 3 27, okay. So I was able to break, I was back in my day three. 30. I couldn't break a three I couldn't break a three 20.

And then when I turned 40, I could run a three 20. Yeah. Under a three 30 and I could break three 30. So that was good. But that was my fastest time and, now I'm kinda, kinda wandered into the fours and maybe into the five now. Who knows? But we're still in the game.

Chris Detzel: You're still running, man. You're still doing it. It's all about the journey, like you said. Did We, did, yeah. Is there anything that I missed? I'm sure I missed a lot that you just said, that people would really, you think people should know about either Boston running in general? Any thoughts?

Mark Denny: No, it's just

Chris Detzel: before.

Mark Denny: It's, I don't know, it's a, it's a lifestyle and it's one of those things that I've had a lot of joy not, Boston by far of all, I've run all over the world, and Boston by far is over the top. My favorite. Not only just what it means with the [00:11:00] tradition of the history, the town just being Marathon Monday, everyone's off, everybody, from Hopton all the way into Boston.

It's pretty cool, as people saw on the side. It's just a, it's just a wonderful, race. It's just the discipline of setting up, setting these goals and doing it, it just makes you better at what you do. And it does made, definitely made me better. It's who I am and my wife and I have been able to, gone to Iceland and, different places and run runs and it's just a great place to, it's just a great way to do it.

Sign up, go have fun, and, and something to do. I'm a. I work, I'm busy like everybody else. I raised kids through all that and now I've got grandkids and it's it's just part of my morning discipline outside. And and

Chris Detzel: I love that.

Mark Denny: Running the marathons is just, like I say, it's, that's just that's an extra bonus.

It's the journey of getting ready for these things.

Chris Detzel: One thing I like what you said, 'cause my wife also runs, she's running her 13th Bear Boston Marathon in a row, coming up. But the journey that running, I'm a runner too. I don't really do [00:12:00] marathons anymore, but the journey that has taken us into different states and.

Countries and places that we book our time around these marathons or half marathons or just these running vacation type things, and it's just, it's awesome because you get to feel, we get to feel like we're doing something that is active and focused and we get to see a bunch of stuff, and so I love that you said that because I agree so. That's really it.

Mark Denny: Yeah. And and then you go with these and you, you go and and then you go and you're around like-minded people. You go these, I've done a lot with through marathon tours and so forth, and, you're around these big and you're around other people from all the different countries meet all these people who are kinda the same as you, but from different background.

Okay. Yeah. And, it's just a it's a family. It's a, I, and I think that's probably the. Most disturbing thing for me with the Boston bombing, and I won't go back into that a lot, but it was an attack on my family and it's, I, it's hard for me to talk about and what I, experienced with that and, maybe [00:13:00] we can talk again about that.

But there's a huge story there, but, and I was able to come back the following year after that year and got a. Automatic reentry to that. And, that was a very emotional run. The year after as well.

Chris Detzel: I'm sure of it. I think my wife's first Boston was in. Mark, this has been really great.

Really appreciate your time. Thank you everyone for tuning in to another DFW Running Talk. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter at DFW running talk.substack.com. Mark, thank you.

Mark Denny: Thank you

Chris Detzel: you,

Mark Denny: Chris. All right. Appreciate it. Blessings.