Nealis is the race director for the Marine Corps Marathon, which will celebrate its 34th anniversary on Sunday. Nealis has completed five marathons — including three MCMs — and boasts a personal best of 3:09:50 from the 1983 Marine Corps Marathon.
How’s the workload right now?
At this point, it’s just ‘attention-to-detail’ type items. As Marines, they understand the mission-type orders.
Which is easier — running in the actual race, or running the event?
Running [in] the event is much easier. You’re in total control of your destiny. Changing hats and switching over — you can’t be out there. It’s a different type of anxiety.
Was it a huge thrill to carry the Olympic torch in 1996?
It was. [In Atlanta], the very first night, we had a no-show. When we were planning, we said, ‘Of course they’re all going to show.’ All of a sudden, it was, ‘how do you move it a half mile down to the next runner?’ I immediately jumped in.
Has your family been involved with the race?
My wife’s an MCM graduate — she had run the race in 2005. And she keeps me running every day.
Has the economy changed this year’s race at all?
I think it’s still perplexing that [racing] events are still doing well when you look at [the economy]. In one sense, running is probably a release of stress. As other things in their lives change, [runners] can control the half hour to hour they devote to the sport every day.
How has the race evolved from when you were a runner to the present day?
The security has been much tighter [now]. … If it wasn’t for 9/11, as strange as it sounds, we might never have changed the course as we know it. Once that happened, it really opened up a lot of doors to embrace the public in a bigger way.
— David Sherfinski
