“I’m afraid of running the hills.”

That was the response of Dave Gallagher, an active Richmond resident, when his friend Dave Brown told him he should run the Richmond Marathon back in 1999.  Gallagher didn’t think he was up for the challenge, but with the help of Brown – and by embracing the “pay it forward” concept – he not only achieved his goal but continues to help others do the same to this day.

Gallagher, who competed in track and field in high school, had always believed the only way to train was to go out the door and “run as fast as you can until you collapse… conditioning was simply a way to make you run longer at that speed.”  But Brown convinced him to change his entire perspective.  

“He told me it was about enjoying myself and having a good time,” Gallagher says.  “Our first training session was six months before the marathon, and we walked around Richmond for four and a half hours to get a mental view of how long the race would be.  It completely de-freaked me out.”

Gallagher then started jogging, and over the next six months worked himself into shape through a training program with Brown.  When it came time for the race, “I ended up doing a four-hour marathon and it was a spectacular day,” he recalls.  

Mission accomplished, right?  Not so fast.  

“After the marathon, Dave [Brown] said to me, ‘I’ve paid my debt, now you have to go and pay it forward.’”  Brown went on to explain that his friend Fletcher Hamlin helped him prepare for his first marathon under the stipulation that he must do the same for someone else.

So while Brown had fulfilled his obligation, Gallagher clearly had work left to do.  He enthusiastically complied and eventually convinced his wife, Grace, to join the mission.  

“She was skeptical at first and said she couldn’t run fast, but I told her that the most important part was going at her own pace,” Gallagher says.  “She had an awesome time and ended up recruiting her sister and another friend for future races.”

In addition to encouraging friends and family, Gallagher also promotes a culture of physical fitness in his company, Dominion Payroll Services, and had six staff members run either the HCA Virginia 8k or McDonald’s Half Marathon in 2011. 

“The whole pay-it-forward concept is a great way to show that large obstacles are surmountable, and that’s something we try to teach to our friends, family and coworkers,” Gallagher said.  

Achieving small victories on the way to a larger goal can truly be life-changing, and Gallagher believes that any running event, whether a 5k or a 50-miler, gives people a reason to embark on such a journey.

“Where else can you see thousands of people achieving a life goal on the same day in the same place? I was glad to be able to accomplish that goal, and it was important to me to be able to help someone else achieve it as well.”