Marathon milestone

Sibling rivalry fueled Elk Grove Village man’s quest to join 50 States Club

David Wcislo of Elk Grove Village stands on the podium at the Maui Oceanfront Marathon on Jan. 15 with his first-place medal in the 70-74 age bracket. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

David Wcislo, left, of Elk Grove Village recently completed his 50th marathon — one in each of the 50 states — at age 70. Wcislo is pictured here with David Cook of Richmond, a former co-worker at Kraft, who ran the Maui Oceanfront Marathon with him. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

David Wcislo and David Cook try to master the Hawaiian Shaka hand gesture, which means “hang loose,” while running in the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in January. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

David Wcislo at his first marathon, the New York City Marathon, with his four brothers. Pictured on Nov. 6, 1994, toasting champagne at the finish in Central Park, from left, are: Bob, Joe, Dave, Paul and Lenny Wcislo. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

Pictured at the Maui Oceanfront Marathon Jan. 15, from left, are: Paul Wcislo, Dave Cook, Dave Wcislo and Dave Cook’s nephew, Landon. David Wcislo of Elk Grove Village recently completed his 50th marathon — one in each of the 50 states — at age 70. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

Maui Oceanfront Marathon finishers and age place medals. (Courtesy of David Wcislo)

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Growing up one of five brothers and three sisters, David Wcislo of Elk Grove Village knows a thing or two about sibling rivalry. Little did he guess it would extend well into adulthood and propel him into doing marathons.

Now, more than 20 years after running his first marathon — the New York City Marathon in 1994 with his four brothers — Wcislo realized a dream last month when he finished his 50th marathon, the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. He has now run one in each of the 50 states.

“My desire to run a marathon started six years before New York after seeing my twin brother finish the Chicago Marathon,” says Wcislo, a former IT project manager with Kraft Foods. “It was fueled by both curiosity, because I was not an athlete, and envy, because he did it first.”

Wcislo, who turns 71 in May, finished his milestone marathon first in his age group. He ran the race with his twin brother, Paul, and five of his siblings and his wife, Linda, were waiting at the finish to celebrate.

His daughter, Amanda Boland of Lombard, was unable to make the trip, but this much she knows: “He’s inspired our whole family.”

Wcislo reflected on his journey of going from a hard working computer specialist, who avoided the company fitness center, to a dedicated runner and now a member of the elite 50 States Marathon Club — there are only 4,184 members in the country.

“I marched into middle age working hard and not taking care of my general health,” Wcislo says. “I gained enough weight to start growing out of my business suits. Not a lot, but enough to bother me.”

After watching his twin finish his first marathon, Wcislo overcame his inhibitions and joined Kraft’s Fitness Center in Northfield. He started on the stair-stepper and weightlifting machines, and within one year he lost 15 pounds, he says.

“My cardio improved and I was generally healthier,” Wcislo says.

He eventually called his twin to suggest they do a marathon together. When he learned all of his brothers would be running the New York City Marathon, he signed up. Less than one year later, all five brothers competed together and celebrated their accomplishment.

“I thought I was one and done, but through the company fitness center I made friends who ran marathons,” Wcislo adds. “We ran several locally, and we all were attracted to traveling races.”

Wcislo says the running lifestyle changed his outlook on life. His runs helped with stress and any down times, he says, and it built camaraderie. He found he enjoyed the training runs as much as the competitions.

“Running changed my attitude toward life — and toward work,” Wcislo says.

Some 10 years later, after doing approximately 20 marathons in several states, Wcislo and his brother talked about shooting for the 50 States Club.

Having retired around the same time, they looked into multistate marathon series, which grouped marathons on different days of the week, allowing runners to complete several at one time.

Their first attempt was the Center of the Nation Series, in which they completed marathons in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. The series also includes Wyoming and Montana, however the Wcislo brothers had already completed those, so they skipped them and instead toured Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills.

The following year, in 2014, they completed 16 races, leaving them just one short of their 50-state goal. That’s when Wcislo suffered an injury.

“One month after my last marathon, my 49th, I went gimp,” Wcislo says. “I later found out it was a pinched nerve in my leg.”

His diagnosis, surgery and road to recovery were documented recently by Northwest Community Healthcare, who credited Dr. Shaun O’Leary with treating his symptoms and performing outpatient peripheral nerve surgery, which led to his recovery.

“It took a full two years before I ran another marathon,” Wcislo says, “but I was back.”

He’s not done yet. Wcislo plans to run the Little Rock Half Marathon in March and the Glass City Marathon in Toledo in April.

learned all of his brothers would be running the New York City Marathon, he signed up. Less than one year later, all five brothers competed together and celebrated their accomplishment.