Dennis Moore, 75, had just returned home to New Paltz from London, where he’d finished running five out of the six World Marathon Majors — a daunting athletic goal that includes not only qualifying for but competing in and completing the New York City, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and London marathons — each the standard 26.2 miles long. Not only did Moore, who works in website design, finish the London marathon, his 16th, but he placed tenth out of 45 men in his age group. He was the top American runner.
The Tokyo marathon remains. “I’m not into hardware,” he said, “but they do put a beautiful ring of medals around your neck after you complete this.”
How did Moore get into running? While he’d done some jogging off and on in his life, he said that he didn’t “really start becoming serious about running until I was 67.” That was around the time when Katherine Switzer, the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon and writer of the best-selling book “Marathon Woman,” and her equally accomplished husband, Roger Robinson, a world-record holder, author and journalist as well, moved into the neighborhood. As Moore began to learn more about the two, he was compelled to run with them because that’s where he could hear more of their vast array of amazing stories.
“I started running with them, and how could I not help but get inspired?” he said. “I told Roger that I’d really like to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and he tried to talk me out of it. He thought I was crazy.”
Once Robinson realized how passionate about the activity Moore had become, he helped coach him. As any runner knows, qualifying for the Boston Marathon, on many a marathoner’s bucket list, is no easy task. It took Moore competing in five marathons before he punched his ticket in Toronto with a time of four hours and 19 minutes to get to the starting line in Boston 2018.
“My tenacity was rewarded with one of the worst days of weather in Boston Marathon history,” he said with a smile. “It was brutal. 20 to 30 miles per hour headwinds, freezing rain, and by mile 23 I was really hurting.” He not only survived the brutal Heartbreak Hill at Mile 20 but managed to finish.
Moore said he pushed through to the finish despite the harsh conditions and the deep fatigue he was experiencing because he had already bought a Boston Marathon jacket! “I couldn’t wear the jacket without having completed it,” he explained. He said running this Boston Marathon was “one of the most physically challenging things I’ve ever done.”
There’s this common bond
As he recovers from the London Marathon and prepares for his final World Marathon Major in Tokyo-in March, Moore mused on what it was about the marathon experience that has drawn him in and propelled him to 17 finishes. “The running community is the most warm and welcoming culture I’ve ever participated in,” he said. “There’s this common bond, a connection that is forged through all those miles.”
There is a tribal aspect of running, no matter if you’re at the front of the pack or the back of the pack. You’ve all endured the same distance, the same course, the same highs and lows, just at different speeds. But there’s also the day-in and day-out friendships of the kind Moore has fostered with Robinson and other local runners he logs the miles with on the Wallkill Valley rail trail (WVRT) or the Mohonk Preserve.
“My wife and I have become close friends with Katherine and Roger, and they have been an unbelievable support to me,” Moore explained. “They’ve travelled to many of my races to cheer me on and support me. Roger and I have traveled and competed in races together. He keeps breaking world records at 83. He’s held the national marathon distance records twice. He has his name engraved in the sidewalk at the Boston Marathon. He’s the real deal.”
Moore and Robinson are not only accomplished runners, particularly at a mature age, but they are unbelievably fast! After Tokyo, Moore has his sights on doing the Fifth Avenue Mile, where he hopes to throw down a sub-seven-minute mile. “My weakness as a newer runner is endurance,” said Moore. “I think I do have some speed. The shorter I run, the faster I go, so I’d like to focus on some shorter races that interest me. The Fifth Avenue Mile has always been one I’d like to do.”
With all the running he’s done the last seven years, Moore feels fortunate not to have sustained major injuries. “I have a theory,” he said. “Since I didn’t start running until much later than most people do, I don’t have all of the strains and sprains and scar tissue they do. I have pretty young legs!”
Moore has also served as a volunteer in many of the local Shawangunk Runner trail races in the region.
The scuba adventures
He continues to pursue his lifelong love of scuba diving. “I call myself a serial obsessionist!” he exclaimed. He took a deep dive into sailing in his past and into flying, obtaining a private pilot’s license. But scuba has been with him for decades, and the adventures never stop.
“I’ve been to South Africa several times, where I’ve been fortunate enough to dive where there are tiger sharks. I love tiger sharks. They’re such fascinating, smart, sensitive creatures. They’ve swam right up to me, and are just curious and take a swim around me and then keep going.”
In his deep-sea diving, he’s been able to explore Japanese naval ships sunk in World War Two. He’s taken a wild ride doing cenote (sinkhole) diving in Puerto Morelos in Mexico.
Right now, though, his major focus is to complete the World Major Marathon series in Tokyo. “I’m really excited,” he said. “What’s so great about running is that it helps me live in denial. I think I’m 35!”
No matter what age or what pace or what your interests in life are, Moore serves as a living reminder that passion and joy are timeless and ageless. They’re always there for you to expand what you think you’re capable of.
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