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Nick Giordano doesn't just run the Boston Marathon anymore. Three years ago he finished his last completion with a proposal; shortly after crossing the finish line, Giordano got down on one knee to ask his longtime running partner, and girlfriend, Deb, to marry him. He has run in honor of his father, his mother, and his grandparents; to support friends and for the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans and the American Liver Foundation.
And this year Giordano will be returning to run for someone new: himself. In 2005, in a strange case of coincidence, after his first time running for the American Liver Foundation, he was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Back from a two-year break, Giordano’s run is one of gratitude: "This year's run is dedicated to my health."
Giordano, a Plainville resident, wasn't always a runner, let alone the kind of runner that got excited about the prospect of a 26-mile jaunt.
"My athletic career was football, baseball and wrestling," said Giordano. "My running was a few miles here and there, just to get ready for the season."
But in college, his competitive side came through, and he set himself a high goal: "My goal was to run five straight Bostons."
He started training himself for the 2001 Boston Marathon, but admits his process might have not been the best.
"My first year, I had no clue. At one point, I ran 19 miles, with no water. I ran with intensity, I didn't know any better."
He finished that first Boston Marathon, but joined a training team the next year, a group that prepared him for the five following marathons; the five straight marathons he had set as his goal.
His first year he ran as a bandit, untied to any charity; he then spent three years running for the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, before he joined Deb in her efforts to aid the American Liver Foundation, a switch that had felt right at the time: "My grandfather had died of cirrhosis, and I dedicated that run to him."
But the choice turned out to be prescient, when shortly after the marathon, and his proposal to Deb, Giordano was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a surprising diagnosis for a 33-year-old five-time marathon-runner.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a treatable and often unnoticeable liver condition usually resulting from excessive alcohol consumption or obesity; neither attributable to Giordano.
Common symptoms for NAFLD are fatigue and malaise; however, Giordano insists that the only symptom bugging him now is the enforced monitoring of his health.
"In my twenties, I thought I could run through walls, I didn't go to the doctors, and I'd pin up those little slips to get my blood work, and they'd just pile. But now, this is something I have to monitor, routine physicals, monitor my levels, and get my blood work often."
Now, after taking a two-year break from the Boston Marathon to "give my body a rest," Giordano's ready to take on the long and winding Bay State tour again, to achieve what will be his seventh completed marathon.
With his own diagnosis behind him, Giordano's fronting for the American Liver Foundation, the perfect poster-child for their cause. He's dedicating his run to his godfather, who's been undergoing chemotherapy while Giordano's been training, and to the many people suffering from liver diseases.
"My future consists of doctors appointments--their futures consist of a liver transplant."
One of those people waiting for a liver transplant is Giordano's patient match, Pearl. Although a healthy little girl, Pearl has bilary atresia and in ensuing years will need a liver transplant. Through Giordano, Pearl will experience the exhilaration of running the marathon, as she keeps track of his training, sending frequent emails asking "How's my runner doing?" On April 21, on the 19th mile of the Boston Marathon, Pearl will be waiting to cheer for Giordano.
Nick Giordano may have started running in the Boston Marathon seven years ago in an attempt to fulfill a competitive college goal, but he set in motion a lifetime of public service.
"When we first signed-up, it was about running the marathon. Then, you get matched up with a patient. Then you know someone, friend or family, who has a disease. And then it becomes running for awareness."
Each year, he's raised thousands of dollars donated to charity, he's worked with patient matches to help bring a special moment to a struggling kid,through his publicized athletics and public speeches he's fueled awareness for a disease he's proven conquerable, and, obviously, he's about to finish his seventh Boston Marathon. Despite these ample life accomplishments, he hopes to be back for more.
"I may be back next year; that will be eight. And, you may see me doing ten. If I finish, I'm happy."