Marc MacDonald wasn't afraid to pay the price when he played football at Beverly High School and Tufts University. He became acquainted with the weight room in eighth grade and from that point on took it very seriously.
MacDonald built himself up to 235 pounds at Beverly High and became a two-way lineman and captain before graduating in 2002. He kept improving as a football player and weightlifter the next few years, growing into a 250-pound nose tackle at Tufts University.
Once he started working full-time, MacDonald wasn't going to fall into the trap of a sedentary life. But he still needed to shed some excess pounds.
His solution? Short runs, followed by longer runs.
"It was the baby steps approach to running," said MacDonald, 27, who now lives in Somerville and works for an architecture and engineering firm in Boston.
Still, it was one of the best moves that MacDonald has ever made — literally and figuratively.
He's still a relative novice in the sport, but he's found camaraderie and competition through the Somerville Road Runners Club. MacDonald has completed marathons in Las Vegas and Boston in the last five months and has another marathon coming up this fall in Maine.
Oh, and one more thing: he's also dropped about 45 pounds from his peak football weight at Tufts and now checks in at around 205 pounds.
"I'm a very competitive person and that was great when I played football," said MacDonald. "But I also found that running kind of fits in with that. You're competing with yourself and other people when you're doing races, and it promotes being in good shape.
"About a year before running (the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon) in Las Vegas, I still weighed about 235. I've been a big kid since eighth grade, but I had no use for all that weight."
Started small while thinking big
MacDonald started small with 5K races and gradually moved up to the Run to Remember, a half marathon over a historic course in Boston, last May. He clocked a 1:56 in that one and it gave him the motivation to escalate to a full marathon.
"It was definitely tiring to run (13.1 miles), but I was exhilarated," MacDonald said. "My goal was to break two hours and once I saw that I could do that one, I kind of figured I could move up to the bigger races."
The Las Vegas Marathon, held last December, was a good introduction to longer races. MacDonald had never visited the city, the course was flat and the weather was conducive for running at that time of year. He completed the race in 3:53.50 and went through the typical ups and downs of a first time marathoner.
"For about a half hour (following the race), I was pretty tapped out, but I got through it," said MacDonald. "It was optimal weather for a marathon. The experience itself — I had a blast."
The Boston Marathon was a different animal; it's close to home and it oozes tradition. Growing up in Beverly, he was always aware of it. His uncle, Bill MacDonald, had done Boston as a so-called bandit (unofficial) runner, and it was on Marc's "to do" list of marathons.
MacDonald acquired an official Boston Marathon bib number through the Somerville Road Runners Club application process. Since it was Boston, he also wanted to do something special affiliated with the race. Although he wasn't on any official charity runners team, he decided to raise money for Dana Farber.
It worked out in every way. MacDonald did OK time-wise for his first Boston, finishing in 4:05.21, and he was generous to Dana Farber, turning in $1,500.
"I had no obligation (to raise money for) Dana Farber, but I just picked them because it's a great cause. Cancer is devastating to all mankind and I just wanted to do something," he said.
"The race itself was just unbelievable. Boston is the best race for crowd support. It's one day where all kinds of people come together. So many great things happen on that day."
Pushed on by a partner
The Somerville Road Runners Club, which has over 300 members, has proven to be a perfect vehicle for MacDonald as he immerses himself into the sport. The club has runners in various age groups and different skill levels, so it's pretty easy to find a training partner.
MacDonald found an ideal training partner in Dan McGinty, who hails from Central Mass. and now lives in the Boston area. At 36 McGinty is nine years older than MacDonald, but he has a similar background in that he started running recreationally and then got more serious about it. One of his primary goals was to lose weight; McGinty said he gained about 50 pounds over a five-year period when he was in his late 20s, but consistent training and running has enabled him to get down to 195 pounds.
McGinty ran the Las Vegas and Boston marathons with MacDonald and finished Boston in 3:42. He views MacDonald as a solid all-around athlete who is only going to get better as a runner.
"We got together (as training partners) and Marc picked it up quickly," said McGinty. "I saw a picture of him (early on) and he's really slimmed down since then. Marc is very competitive. He plays kickball and I know he's played baseball and he snowboards. He's done all this stuff and I think he'll keep improving as a runner."
MacDonald plans on doing Maine's Mount Desert Island Marathon in October, and one of his goals is to run the New York City Marathon. Meanwhile, McGinty wants to complete the big five marathons consisting of Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin and thinks MacDonald will lean in that direction with more experience.
"You'll see him doing other things," said McGinty.
MacDonald is inclined to agree.
"I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life," he said.
