Legging It Out For Uncle Dave
Michael Davis had decided this summer that a January marathon was going to be his last. After five marathons and several half-marathons he had proved to himself that despite being an unlikely long-distance runner he could do it, and he had raised $10,000 in five years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The time had come to focus more on his young family.
Little did he know that his last racing endeavor would hold even more meaning. His godfather, David King of Springs, is contending with the very disease Mr. Davis has been raising money for. He was diagnosed this summer with an aggressive form of leukemia.
“Each one has a reason. Each one, when I’m out there running — training or on race day — you think about the people you’re running for,” Mr. Davis said. “It means the world,” he said, choking up at being able to do something to show his godfather some support.
Through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, an endurance sports training program that raises money for blood cancer research, Mr. Davis will participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend next month in Orlando, Fla. Not only is he running the 26.2-mile marathon on Jan. 10, but he has added Goofy’s Race, a half-marathon challenge the day before, in honor of his godfather.
While they are not extremely close, his “Uncle Dave” — they are actually cousins — has always been someone Mr. Davis has admired for his hard work and strong will. Mr. King has risen through the ranks to become the current chief of the Springs Fire Department.
“To be able to run in his honor that day, it’s going to be very profound for me,” Mr. Davis said, adding that he will be out there for the 13.1 miles alone, without a teammate, which he will have for the marathon. “It’s just going to be me and Dave running, so to speak.”
Mr. Davis, who grew up in Springs and now lives in Aquebogue, didn’t start jogging until in 2009. He was a lineman and catcher in high school who admittedly didn’t have to run much. A dig from a co-worker who bet him he couldn’t run a mile got him moving and led to his first race, the former Mind Over Matter 5K in Sag Harbor. He then moved on to a 10K and thought, “That’s good enough.”
A year later, his sister signed him up for his first half-marathon and introduced him to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He didn’t know much about the cause at the time. “All I knew, it was a blood cancer and that it was attacking kids,” which, he said, “pulled at my heart.”
The more he learned about leukemia and lymphoma, the more people he found who were affected by it — his wife’s niece, a 19-month-old grandson of a friend, the adult daughter of a pastor, the list goes on. It made him want to continue to raise money.
Running doesn’t come easy to the 43-year-old. “I’m not a small guy,” he said. “I ran three out of five marathons at over 250 pounds. I will never be one of those 6-foot, 100-pound running guys.” Training takes it toll. He and his wife made the decision in August his sixth would be it.
A few weeks later, the news reached him that his godfather had leukemia. While he had already planned to run the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 10 in honor of all the survivors of the disease, he then decided to tack on Goofy’s Race in honor of Uncle Dave.
The two got together on Thanksgiving. “He’s not a man of many words in the first place,” Mr. Davis said, “but he was awestruck.”
Mr. King said he is in remission, though still receiving treatment. The support means the world to him.
And it means just as much to Mr. Davis. “He’s done more for me than he knows,” Mr. Davis said. “How hard he’s fighting and how strong he is. That’s what’s going to get me through both the half and the full marathon. . . . I just see the strength in him, his resolve.”
Along with the extra running distance, Mr. Davis has made this his most aggressive campaign yet, committing to raise $5,000 before the race. Those who wish to donate to Mr. Davis through Team in Training can do so online or by sending a check payable to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to Michael Davis, P.O. Box 716, Aquebogue 11931.