U of S professor goes the distance: 50 marathons, 50 states

Three decades, 50 states, and over 60 pairs of worn-out running shoes all came down to a cold, breezy stretch of road in Anchorage, Alaska, for University of Scranton Professor David Dzurec.

It was there, on June 20, that Dzurec took the final strides of his 30-year quest to conquer a marathon in every single state.

Dzurec, 49, wasn’t alone at the finish line, though. In fact, his running journey has always been a family affair, starting back when he met his wife Brooke while running cross country at Fairfield University.

When they married in 2006, they headed to Maui, Hawaii, where Dzurec ran a full marathon and Brooke ran a half-marathon.

If you told a 19-year-old Dzurec that he would one day cross his 50th finish line right beside his own teenage son, he never would have believed it.

David Dzurec IV, who ran his first marathon in Alaska, followed in his parents’ footsteps and competed in cross country at Abington Heights High School, where he graduated this spring.

Not only was Dzurec accompanied by his son David, but also by his brother, Paul, in the full marathon.

The family theme didn’t stop there, though: Brooke ran the half, and two younger children walked/ran a 4-mile fun run.

Other family members made the more than 3,000-mile trek simply to support him in the completion of his goal.

Dzurec, who also serves as the associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, notes that his efforts over the course of the last 30 years provided a constant reminder of the importance of perseverance in other areas of his life.

For example, it took several years to earn his Ph.D., and raising children also requires strength and endurance, he said.

Bringing passion to the next generation

Attempting a marathon in all 50 states is challenging not just physically, but logistically, Dzurec said.

The Shiprock Marathon in New Mexico was nearly the marathon that didn’t happen, he said. He was flying across country to get there when his flight kept getting delayed. He remembers sitting at an airport thinking, “This might be the one that gets away.”

When he did get to his hotel, after a two-hour drive from the airport, it was 1 a.m. and he had little time for sleep before the event’s 7 a.m. start.

He made it there, although his time was affected by his exhaustion. Dzurec points out that although early on his goal might have been to run at the front of the pack with a stellar time, at some point he just wanted to finish with a decent time.

So, that race and others like it were all about simply finishing.

But not so for his son David. During the Anchorage marathon, the two ran neck and neck for the first 11 miles, until the junior Dzurec began running faster than his father.

Dzurec said he had had some calf pain and simply told his son to “go for it.”

Dzurec finished the race in 3 hours, 57 minutes and 4 seconds. His son finished before him at 3 hours, 46 minutes and 5 seconds.

Dzurec, referencing the video that accompanied the results, points out that his son finished strong, looking energetic even after 26 miles.

By chance and by design

Dzurec’s goal of running a marathon in each state took shape more by chance than by design.

He ran cross country in high school, mostly to keep in shape for basketball. So when a cross country teammate suggested running a marathon in their senior year, Dzurec suggested they hold off until they were in college.

True to his word, in 1996 Dzurec ran the Vermont City Marathon as a senior at Fairfield.

He didn’t run again until 1999, at the California International, where he qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Having run three marathons in three states, Dzurec decided to attempt to run a marathon in each of the 50 states.

Although he has run Scranton’s Steamtown Marathon twice, his first marathon in Pennsylvania was in Pittsburgh.

“So that’s the one that counts,” he said, laughing.

To Dzurec, each marathon was memorable in its own way.

When it comes to the simple beauty of the setting, he looks back at the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine, which takes runners through Acadia National Park.

Despite his accomplishment, Dzurec isn’t done yet with marathon-centered goals.

After three decades of distance-running dedication in North America, he’s considering the World Majors Marathons.

“The original six include Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo. Since I’ve already run half, I’m considering the remaining three to complete the cycle,” he said.