Seven continents, seven marathons
ALUMNI & FRIENDS | When she was a child, Holly Dobrowolski, AS88, was a bit of a daddy’s girl—always by her father’s side. Although the little-girl years are done, daddy and daughter still seem inseparable at times.
For 11 years now, Holly and her father, Alex, have tackled—together—one of the toughest challenges an athlete can endure. On six continents, both have entered—and completed—a full marathon, from the ancient streets of Rome to the near-Arctic reaches of Reykjavík, Iceland.
They do it because of the challenge, and because of the love they share. They do it as a way to sustain the credo Alex instilled—“always live life to its fullest”—and to satisfy the competitive drive both hold in their core. And they have just one more race to run—the 2017 Antarctic Ice Marathon—before they can lay claim to having conquered all seven continents.
Running the world
To date, the Dobrowolskis have completed eight marathons together across the globe, from Dublin to Warsaw, in addition to their six “continental challenge” races, including running the New York City marathon twice:
- • Europe (2004): Rome, Italy
- • North America (2007): Reykjavík, Iceland *
- • Australia (2008): Sydney
- • Asia (2012): Tokyo, Japan
- • South America (2013): Buenos Aires, Argentina
- • Africa (2015): Cape Town, South Africa
- • Antarctica: Planned for 2017
- (*Iceland is on both North American and European continents).
When that happens, Holly will be 50 years old. Alex, a retired schoolteacher who shows no signs of embracing a passive retirement, will be 76. They suspect—but can’t be sure—that they will be the oldest father-daughter duo to complete the coveted seven-continent marathon challenge.
“What a great accomplishment that you can say at the end of the day, ‘I ran all these marathons with my father,’ says Holly, a North Jersey resident, who most recently was a senior sales operations analyst for Juicy Couture in Manhattan. “It’s a point of pride.’’
In part, that sense of accomplishment and achievement was also instilled on the UD campus, Holly says. It was a perfect place for a young woman seeking growth—small enough to be comfortable and comforting, large enough to hold opportunity. “She really grew at Delaware,” says Alex, a Highland Park, New Jersey, resident. “They did a really good job at giving her a social as well as an academic education.”
But it’s probably dad who should get the credit for Holly’s go-go gene.
“We run together at the start, but she gets bored because I’m much slower than she is,” says Alex. “And then she says, ‘Dad, I’ve gotta go!’ She’s got that competitiveness. It’s inbred.”
Article by Eric Ruth, AS93
