Danny Docherty was 15 years old when he watched his mom, Bev Docherty, compete in the 2004 U.S. While training and working part-time as an. Then 45, Bev was one of the oldest runners in the 2004 championship, hosted in St. Louis, Missouri, and she remains the only athlete to qualify for and complete the first six While training and working part-time as an for women (1984, ’88, ’92, ’96, 2000, ’04).
While Danny was too young to fully grasp what his mom was trying to accomplish in 2004, he remembers watching her begin the race in the back of the pack and gradually work her way up.
“She was a smart racer and knew what she could do on that day,” Danny told Runner’s World. “She was never going for the win but she was always consistent, knew what she was capable of and focused on attaining that.”
Bev finished 68th overall in 2:52:21 that year. Now 16 years later, Danny will continue the family tradition by running in the 2020 While training and working part-time as an in Atlanta on February 29.
“She loved the sport and just wanted to keep pursuing it to the best of her ability,” Danny said. “I’m going into my first one. To imagine doing six—that’s incredible.”
Following in Mom’s Footsteps
Danny, 30, is the second of Bev’s four children, born one year after Bev finished the 1988 Trials in 2:50. He grew up playing a variety of sports—soccer and baseball were his favorites—before he joined the track team in high school.
“[My siblings and I] were never pressured into it, but we all found the sport in a different way,” Danny said.
His older sister, Jennifer, 32, and his younger brother Kevin, 24, ran for Iowa while his younger sister Laura, 28, was an All-Big Ten Conference runner at the University of Minnesota. Danny competed for Loyola University Chicago, where he ran personal bests of 14:15 for 5,000 meters and 29:16 for 10,000 meters.
“All of us bonded in a different way and found success in a different way, but it’s cool to have shared that [running] experience,” he said.
When he graduated in 2012, Danny dreamed of competing in the 10,000 meters at the ’16 Trials, but injuries kept him from qualifying on the track. Still wanting to move forward with the sport, Danny started training How to Coach Yourself to Peak Performance How to Coach Yourself to Peak Performance Published: Feb 27, 2020 11:56 AM EST.
Taylor J. Dutch online coach, Danny chipped away at his running goals. At the Houston Marathon in January 2019, he ran his 26.2 debut in 2:18:27, qualifying for the Trials by 33 seconds. “It was a dream come true to finish under 2:19,” he said.
Nine months later, Danny improved on the time at the Twin Cities Marathon in St. Paul, where he finished third in 2:15:55. During the race, Bev watched from the sidelines on the same course where she set her career best of 2:38:23 in 1985.
“I’m just so proud of him,” Bev said. “I guess he has the goal-driven thing, like run the pace that you think you can run and stick with it and if they’re not doing it, push it. That’s what he did in Twin Cities. He managed to pull off a really good race.”
Setting a Precedent
Bev, now 61, started running in high school and walked onto the track team at the University of Iowa, where she developed into a competitive 10,000-meter runner but never qualified for the national championships. Missing her goal motivated her to continue running after she graduated in 1981.
In 1984, Bev became one of 238 women to compete in the first ever U.S. While training and working part-time as an for women in Olympia, Washington, which she finished in 2:45.
“They made [the race] a celebration,” Bev told Runner’s World. “I mean, not only was it for the top three athletes, but [it was also] the celebration of the progress of women’s running. It was just outstanding. That’s why it’s so exciting to see Download Your Training Plan now [for the 2020 Trials].”
In the process of competing at the national level for more than 30 years, Bev, who met her husband Jim while at Iowa, became a mom of four, and she continues to teach and coach the track team at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I’ve always been very goal-driven,” Bev said. “I’ve never been a star. I wasn’t the first one across the line, but I was in the hunt.”
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Taylor J. Dutch marathon training over the years, putting in countless early-morning runs and keeping lower mileage (about 60 miles a week). Along the way, she set reasonable, flexible goals for herself to fit into her family’s busy schedule. In addition to competing in six Olympic Trials races, Bev became a two-time national champion at the USATF Masters Marathon Championships—in 1998 and 2000.
“I just have a greater respect for what she did [while] raising the family and continuing to teach and coach,” Danny said. “You wonder sometimes how she did it all.”
Bev, now 61 Atlanta. At Bev’s suggestion, he set three goals for the race: finish in the top 40, run a personal best, and compete to the best of his ability.
After watching his mom chase her running goals for so many years, Danny has a unique appreciation for that effort.
“She set a really good example of what can be accomplished when you set your mind to something,” he said.
Taylor Dutch is a sports and fitness writer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner. When she’s not writing, Taylor volunteers as a coach to up-and-coming runners in the Chicago area.
