By Valerie Hardy
For Danny Mucciolo, becoming a marathon runner happened by accident. He literally took a couple wrong turns.
Mucciolo, a seven-year Downers Grove resident, formerly lived in Arizona. One day he went running and lost track of his whereabouts. Upon regaining his sense of direction and finding his way home, he realized he had far surpassed his typical mileage.
“My wife said, ‘Intentionally run a half-marathon if you’re going to accidentally run nine miles,’” Mucciolo explained.
He listened, and after running a half marathon, he figured he might as well do a full one. In February 2015 he ran his first 26.2-mile race: the Phoenix Marathon.
Fast forward nearly a decade, and Mucciolo has two dozen marathons under his belt, including all the Abbott World Marathon Majors (WMMs), a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: the Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City Marathons. Those who complete all six WMM races join an elite group of runners (only 17,026 globally) considered “Six Star Finishers.”
“It was a fun physical and mental exercise, and then I did it again, and again, and again.”
– Danny Mucciolo, on running marathons
Mucciolo’s first WMM was the New York race, which he initially ran in 2016. This was special because Mucciolo and his wife used to live in Manhattan along the marathon course.
However, when living in Manhattan, Mucciolo had yet to discover his penchant for running. Now, Mucciolo has done the NYC Marathon four times, and he meets his wife along the course near their old digs “for a fly-by kiss while running” the race.
Mucciolo’s second WMM was the Chicago Marathon – which he has also run four times – followed by Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Boston. He completed the last two Majors just months ago.
It was a double milestone for Mucciolo to run Tokyo in March, because not only was it his penultimate WMM, it also took place on his birthday.
Then, in April, he ran the Boston Marathon and received his prized “Six Star Medal.” Mucciolo’s gratitude during his final WMM was amplified because he also previously lived in Boston. “It was special for me to complete the World Six in a place I used to live and on American soil,” Mucciolo noted.
While running the Majors became a major goal for Mucciolo, he also prioritized other marathons. For example, he ran the Paris Marathon in 2017 and the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 2019. Even in 2020 – amidst the pandemic – Mucciolo participated in the virtual Marine Corps Marathon, running 26.2 miles, alone, around Downers Grove’s McCollum Park.
Mucciolo usually runs three marathons per year, but he never intended for marathon running “to be this hobby or target number of races,” he explained. “I just wanted to do it for the athletic discovery.”
He enjoyed pushing his limits. “It was a fun physical and mental exercise, and then I did it again, and again, and again,” Mucciolo said of his continued marathoning.
Next up for Mucciolo is the Chicago Marathon again this fall, which “will be special because it’s number 25.”
Mucciolo also has the Bordeaux Marathon – “a rather festive race that you don’t run for time” – on his bucket list. Bordeaux is a fitting race for Mucciolo, a wine and spirits sales executive.
Mucciolo does not have other specific marathons or a time goal he wants to complete (his fastest time to date is 3:18, which he ran in the 2022 Chicago Marathon, just one week after doing the London Marathon).
“I’m just going to keep doing this until I can’t anymore,” Mucciolo said. “For now, I just feel fortunate that I still can.”
Mucciolo also feels fortunate to be able to use racing to raise funds and awareness for important charitable causes, including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (his sister is a type 1 diabetic) and the Pat Tillman Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships and mentoring for military service members, veterans, and spouses.
Mucciolo also draws inspiration from people who have fought literal or metaphorical battles. He writes on his race bibs the initials of people who have supported or inspired him. Marathoning can be challenging, Mucciolo said, and “it’s good to think about people who are propelling you at a time you might need some propulsion.” ■
