A Tale of Two Dales:
Dale Ann & Dale Bob Eckert
By Kathleen Downey
Dale Ann and Dale Bob
Dale Ann Eckert believes that we have been put on earth to do good. “It doesn’t have to be anything big; everyone can do something to make a big difference in the world,” she says. She offers a smile and admits, “I guess Dale and I can take ‘doing something’ to the extreme.”
Her husband goes by Dale Bob, “Even though Bob really isn’t his middle name; it just makes things easier,” says Dale Ann, who tacks on her middle name to distinguish herself in conversation from Dale Bob.
The two running enthusiasts—Dale Bob is president of the Winner’s Circle Running Club—have been together for 35 years. “We met over a foosball table in Ashland, MA, in 1977,” Dale Bob shares with a wide grin. Dale Ann was waitressing at the pub where they met, and Dale Bob was early in his career as a BMW master technician.
Dale Bob’s employment as a BMW service manager on the North Shore brought the couple to Newburyport in 1980.
But serendipity may have also played a role. “I happened to do an ancestry search after we moved here,” says Dale Ann. “I discovered that my ancestors were early Newbury settlers, going back to the 1700s on Kent Island. I had no idea!”
“Sneaker towers” stand in the kitchen of the Eckert’s South End bungalow, testament to their commitment to running. A myriad of running shoes of different colors and styles are stacked in orderly rows.
The Eckerts combine their passion for running with a purpose: to help find a cure for the disease that has closely touched each of their lives. Dale Ann lost her mother to Alzheimer’s, and Dale Bob’s sister was diagnosed two years ago at age 63.
In honor of Dale Bob’s sister, the couple is currently raising funds through a drawing for a hand-crafted quilt entitled, “My Sister’s Heart.”
Since 2006, the couple has raised $50,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association.
When they aren’t running to find a cure for the disease, the two Dales can regularly be spotted, standing in their running shoes, outside of local stores and shopping centers with a boot in their hands. Through the Alzheimer’s Boot Drive, the couple asks the help of their fellow citizens.
“People will stop, drop a donation in the boot, and share their stories,” says Dale Ann. “Alzheimer’s has affected so many families—it presents a tough situation” says Dale Bob. He adds, “Our hope is that the disease can at least be managed, like diabetes, in our lifetime.”
In the meantime, the Eckerts continue to run their hearts out.
“We didn’t take up running till 2001,” says Dale Bob. “We started on a bet,” adds Dale Ann. Dale Bob explains that the couple bet one another that if they could run the short distance from the Mobile Station on High Street to Federal Street, without collapsing, they would enter the upcoming Yankee Homecoming 5K road race. Neither Dale Bob nor Dale Ann collapsed.
The couple now runs between 30 and 35 road races each year. After running the Maine Marathon in 2005, Dale Bob qualified for the 2006 Boston Marathon. “If you qualify for Boston, you have no choice,” he asserts. “You have to run it!” 2012 will be Dale Bob’s sixth Boston Marathon.
Inspiration fueled Dale Ann’s 2006 Boston Marathon run. “I ran for my mother,” Dale Ann says. She was one of 16 runners, five of whom had lost a parent to Alzheimer’s that year, who ran “at the back of the pack” as a team devoted to eradicating the devastating disease by raising donations and awareness.
Although the Eckerts run with a serious purpose in mind, they maintain a lighthearted and humorous approach to life.
Dale Bob even jokes about his 2007 diagnosis of Esthesioneuroblastoma—an extremely rare nerve cancer. “I remember thinking, ‘I can’t have cancer; I have a marathon in a month!’” says Dale Bob.
Chemotherapy, radiation, and brain surgery followed. Dale Bob runs his index finger along the slight indentation above his forehead that extends to each of his temples, “where my surgeon peeled my forehead in order to remove the tumor between my eyes,” Dale Bob says.
Despite cancer, Dale Bob was able to participate in the Yankee Homecoming 5K road race that year. “I walked it, because that’s all that my body would permit,” he says. But when “an older woman with a new hip” tried to beat Dale Bob to the finish line, he says he found his strength.
“Cancer has been a life-changer for me,” says Dale Bob, who is on the threshold of his five-year cancer-free milestone. “Some doors closed, but others opened.” Minor physical limitations resulting from his bout with cancer forced Dale Bob to give up his livelihood as a BMW master technician.
He began coaching. “I coached the IC [Immaculate Conception] Journey in 2008 and have been coaching the IC cross-country track team since 2009. I also assist with the Nock Middle School track team,” Dale Bob shares.
Serving as president of the Winner’s Circle Running Club also keeps Dale Bob busy. “The main goal of the club is for the purpose of fostering, encouraging, educating, and promoting athletics and physical fitness, especially the sport of running,” says Dale Bob. “We are there as a support system for local runners.”
The running club also donates money to many charities, including Our Neighbor’s Table, Opportunity Works, Alzheimer’s Association, The Red Cross, and many local school sports running programs. “Last year alone, the Club donated $16,499.00,” says Dale Bob.
Some of the Winner’s Circle Running Club’s road races are strictly about fun. Like the Hangover Classic on New Year’s Day which ends with a mandatory dip in the ocean. Each runner is required to dunk his or her head beneath the water in order to be “legit,” both Dales say—and to earn a coveted glass commemorating the occasion.
“One of our favorite races is the Reach the Beach Relay,” says Dale Ann. The 200-mile run begins at Cannon Mountain and ends at Hampton Beach.
But it’s Mount Washington that might hold the most significance for Dale Ann. Her father (who passed away in 2004) used to work on Mt. Washington’s historic Cog Railway. “He once raced a guy up the railway side of the mountain in 45 minutes!” Dale Ann shares. She and Dale Bob have, so far, raced up the mountain six times as runners in the Mount Washington Auto Road Races.
Dale Ann allows that running must be in her genes. She says that her father, who cared for her mother through Alzheimer’s, inspires Dale Ann to find her strength.
“I’m inspired by challenges,” says Dale Bob, “particularly when someone tells me that I can’t do something. I have to go out and prove them wrong.” Dale Bob digs deep, whether he is running up Mount Washington, beating cancer, or raising funds to find a cure for Alzheimer’s with his best friend and running partner Dale Ann at his side.
“We keep increasing our goals,” says Dale Ann. Together, they strive to do something good while on earth.
Kathleen Downey is the Features Editor for Newburyport Today. If you are a townie or a citizen who would like to be profiled (or to suggest someone to profile), please email: Kathleen@Newburyport-Today.com.
