Denice and Max Davis
Get Up and Run
A Story of Perseverance Between a Mother and Son Competing with Love
story by WENDY NILSEN POLLITZER photos by SUSAN DELOACH
She walked a path she ventured too often, but something on that day felt off. Denice Davis was in her early twenties when she set off for a hike on a familiar trail. On this particular weekday, people were scarce, but one lone stranger lurked behind her awkwardly and with intention. Like most women, she recognized the danger and immediately considered her surroundings. Does she turn around toward the mysterious man to travel the familiar path home or continue to the unknown, hoping to run away from the person invading her safe space? She chose the latter because she knew she was fast. Indeed, she could outrun him if he decided to pursue her.
And that’s what he did. As Denice ran faster, her soon-to-be assailant ran equally as fast and with aggression. He caught up to her as she fell, and he began to punch, hit, kick, and scream at her in another language. She was panicked and paralyzed with fear. What probably lasted thirty seconds seemed like an eternity, and then it stopped. She opened her eyes, hoping to find him running away, hoping that someone saw what was happening, hoping that God had divinely interrupted this stranger’s plan to terrorize her. As her body rose from the ground, she saw him again lunging toward her with a massive boulder between his two hands. He fiercely charged her with a clear objective to kill her. And, at that moment, divine energy lifted her physical confidence as she pushed him away from her. She fought him off miraculously and was able to knock the rock out of his hands. She ran away toward the path she knew. And thankfully, she ran into the middle of a busy vehicular intersection where she was able to put her hands on the hood of a car of another stranger. Her desperate eyes and bloody face screamed, “Help.”
Though young and inexperienced, Denice’s legs and entire body power enabled her to break free from sudden danger. But it was the beginning of a decade of psychological, spiritual, and emotional pain. Anxiety and depression overwhelmed Denice for years until she found safety and peace in the very activity that saved her life.
As many of us face life’s challenges and even tragedies, we try to find a way to manage those obstacles and grief. Some of us succeed, and some of us do not. Denice found cerebral and physical solace in her resiliency, and she bounced back through rapid terrestrial locomotion, also known as running.
Many of you know Denice Davis as the Healthy Living Program Director at the Beaufort-Jasper YMCA of the Lowcountry or “THE face of the Y.” She is also the race director for the Beaufort River Swim and Run, the Beaufort Academy Chilly Bean 5K/10K, and the chairperson of an upcoming paddle/run biathlon in April to mirror Sea Island Rotary’s beloved event from the past. She is a Beaufort fixture, and the epitome of health and wellness in our super fit town. (Well, we’re all trying to get there). She’s also the revered mother of three boys, Max, Jackson, and Ben, her first and most important role in life.
Denice’s motivational strength comes from years of challenging herself to overcome personal hurdles and the traumatic stress of an attack. Denice has run 11 marathons, 5 in Boston, 4 in NYC, and 2 Marine Corps marathons. In 2016, she ran her best time in Boston … 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 21 minutes. “I was truly on a runner’s high,” she proudly smiles.
Denice competed last in the 2019 Boston Marathon, just before COVID closed most racing events around the country for two years. Something went wrong. “Either I didn’t eat well before the race, didn’t train properly, or something else. There was a layer of panic in my mind for whatever reason,” she explains. At mile 16, Denice’s mind, body, and spirit were failing her. She mentally calculated another 10 miles and told herself to persevere. “Mind over matter is a real thing.” Her voice in her head kept getting louder, though she was in tremendous pain.
“I literally wept during the final miles. I was overcome with emotion, and it was cathartic.”
Denice had things on her mind. She was once again “dealing with something.” We all experience this. Life doesn’t cooperate just because we tell it to. It’s the ever-continuous circle of familial existence. We either embrace it or hide from it. Denice Davis embraced it. She was about to send her oldest off to college and knew it was time to pass the torch.
“I’m almost done being competitive. Now I want to push my son and watch him grow.”
Max is entering his junior year at Winthrop University. He runs for the Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams. To train, he runs an average of seven miles daily, usually on the Spanish Moss Trail when at home. The day before a run, he sets a distance goal to hit his ambitious objective of 50-60 miles per week. Each day is different, so he adds or subtracts mileage based on various factors. When he ran his first 5K with his mom, he knew he wanted to beat her. He did. She was moving at a brisk 7:15 pace, and he kept getting ahead of her until finally, “He was just gone,” Denice laughs. Now, Max runs about 15 events per year. When he runs competitively, Max admits, “I don’t focus on just running. I think about races I’ve done in the past and how I can improve … what I can do differently during this one.”
Max’s mom is his hero. “I love her so much. She puts me through school and feeds me,” he says with an appreciative, shy smile.
This is Max’s story, in his own words:
My name is Maxwell Davis. I am 20 years old. I am a college athlete and just finished my second season running Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Track and Field for Winthrop University. The opportunity to become an NCAA athlete started years ago. In 2006, my family moved from Martha’s Vineyard, MA, to Beaufort. I was five years old. Since I was just five, I do not have a tremendous memory of life on the little island other than it being cold!
My mother, Denice, would bring us to the Wardle Family Y with her about every day. We were surrounded by activity all the time. Going back and forth to the basketball gym, swimming in the pool, running, playing, and having so much fun. My mom signed us up for the Y’s youth sports programs too. Basketball, flag football, swi ming, tee ball, you name it, we did it!
When I was ten years old, the Y offered a Kids Triathlon. I was so excited to be a part of it. I took part in all three years the Y hosted the triathlon. It gave me a taste for competitive racing. It was the Y’s kids’ triathlon that led me to pursue running with a small local group called “The Wolfpack.”
Once in middle school, I joined the cross-country team and continued my efforts to hone my running skills. When the weather was a problem, I would come to the Y and run on the treadmill. The Y felt like my second home.
At 16, I decided to become a lifeguard. Frank Hamilton, our in-house CPR and Lifeguarding Instructor, led the charge and helped me and a good friend become certified YMCA lifeguards. We stood guard on the Y’s indoor and outdoor pools. I developed new friendships and new skills, and I was able to meet members of all backgrounds. Being a lifeguard at the Y was not just a job. I was the steward of the pool. I was keeping members safe. My guarding experience allowed me to expand to other pools within our community. I was also able to lifeguard at another YMCA close to Winthrop University while I was at school. Highlights of my experience lifeguarding for the Wardle Y are becoming certified to teach swim lessons to members of every age, along with being part of the guarding team that is critical to the success and safety of the Beaufort River Swim. I can credit lifeguarding for giving me essential leadership skills.
Growing up with the Y has created a foundation for my future. Sports, the triathlon, lifeguarding, watching my mom help many with health and wellness, and the overall great feeling I get when I am physically active. These reasons and much more are why I have chosen to pursue my college major and future career in Exercise Science to become a Physical Therapist. I am proof that when you put physical activity into daily practice, you will benefit from its rewards. It is never too late to start any modality of physical activity but starting at an early age can define how you start everything!
Sometimes, we live a personal battle … decades of it. Then we wake up one day, and say I did it. And I did it very well. That’s Denice’s story. The largest compliment one can receive is another person following in your foot steps. Denice’s children follow her heart, integrity, and passion through years of watching her actions. We thank you, Denice, for giving us all a bit of your motivational self. And Max, keep up the great strides, buddy! We are all rooting for you at Winthrop and in life.
