PMEcolumnist Dan Holohan competed in the Chicago Marathon on October 24, 1999, finishing with a time of 4:32:28. His efforts raised more than $4,000 for a vo-tech scholarship in memory of his longtime friend Dave Nelson.

"It's the best race I've ever taken part in," Holohan said. "My goal was to run the entire race without needing to stop or walk." Holohan, who turns 50 in January, had planned to run the marathon with his daughter Kelly to celebrate her May graduation from the University of Notre Dame. However, Kelly suffered a stress fracture in her leg three weeks before the marathon, so he ran without her.

Holohan had asked industry friends to pledge $1 for each mile he completed for the Dave Nelsen Scholarship Fund. Nelsen, a well-known and respected member of the oil heating industry, passed away suddenly from spinal meningitis in 1998.

The marathon itself set a record with 29,256 participants, and established a world record time of 2:05:42. Holohan last ran a marathon in New York City in 1990. He and Kelly plan to run in the 2000 Chicago Marathon.