. >> reporter: a euphoria of a good long run is a dissttant history for dan cochran. this is a distant memory since running in the breakers since 1950. >> this is a group of people. >> reporter: dan was diagnosed with bparkinson's disease. >> i knew that it would be a short time or a long time i would be in a wheelchair and i did not want to take it lying down. >> reporter: with a strict diet and exercise routine, for 20 years, he has been able to stay out of the wheelchair. >> i am doing okay. >> reporter: and he is beating the odds even with the diagnosis. and it is a diagnosis he wears proudly on the shirt. >> it is the reaction of the people to me. they look at me like i am dying or something. they see me with the wheelchair and the push cart, and they have a terrible look on their face. i say don't worry, it is just parkinson's. >> reporter: and strong enough to play ball with his son, and hitting the pavement is no longer an option. >> it is just too hard on my back. >> reporter: and so his son found a way to make it across the finish line one more way. so every

. >> the euphoria of a good and long run is a distant memory to 78-year-old, dan cochran. >> it was good to get out and clear out the mind. >> dan's dedication to running kicked into high gear in the '70s, and running in the bay to breakers event became a tradition. >> it was an effort. >> 20 years ago dan was diagnosed with parkinson's disease putting his favorite pastime on the shelf. >> the doctor told me it was a short period of time or a long period of time but i will be in a wheelchair eventually, and i decided i didn't want to take that laying down. >> while still young at heart with a strict diet and routine exercise, dan has stayed out of that wheelchair. >> we're 20 years into it. i am still doing okay. >> he has been running his own race, beating the odds regardless of his diagnosis. >> it's just parkinson's. >> that's a quote of his own that he wears proudly on his shirt. >> and it was reaction to peoples' reaction to me. they look at me like i am dying or soin and see the wheelchair o theh hk onth face. don't worry, it's just parkinson's. >> strong enough to play ball with h

. >> the euphoria of a good long run is a distant memory to 78-year-old dan cochran. >> good to get out and clear out the mind. >> dan's dedication to running kicked into high gear in the '70s. and running in the beta breakers event became a yearly tradition. >> the camaraderie. the feeling you get from just being in an effort with bigger people. >> but 20 years ago, dan was diagnosed with parkinson's disease, putting his favorite pastime on the shelf. >> the doctor told me it was a short period of time or a long period of time, but i'll be in a wheelchair eventually. i decided i didn't just want to take it laying down. >> while still young at heart with a strict diet and routine exercise, dan has stayed out of that wheelchair. >> we're 20 years into it. i'm still doing okay. >> he has been running his own race, beating the odds regardless of his diagnosis. >> that's a quote of his own that he wears proudly on his shirt. >> and that was reaction to people's reaction to me. they look at me like i'm dying or something. i see the wheelchair, the push cart. and they get a terrible look on t

. >> reporter: the euphoria of a good, long run is a distant memory to 78-year-old dan cochran. >> itas good to get out and clear out the mind. >> reporter: dan's dedication to running kicked into high gear in the '70s, and running in the bay to breakers event became a yearly tradition. >> the camaraderie with a big group of people. >> reporter: 20 years ago dan was diagnosed with parkinson's disease, putting his favorite pasttime on the shelf. >> the doctor told me it was a short period of time or a long period of time but i'll be in a wheelchair eventually. i decided that i didn't want to just take it laying down. >> reporter: while still young at heart, with a strict diet and routine exercise, dan has stayed out of that wheelchair. >> we're 20 years into it, i'm still doing okay. >> reporter: he has been running his own race, beating the odds regardless of his diagnosis. >> it's just if'ing parkinson's. >> reporter: that's a quote of his own that he wears proudly on his shirt. >> it was a reaction to people's reaction to me. and they look at me like i'm dying or something. they see

. >> reporter: the euphoria of a good, long run is a distant memory to 78-year-old dan cochran. >> itd to get out and clear out the mind a. >> reporter: running in the beta breakers event in the '70s became a tradition. >> the comamaraderie with a big group of people. >> reporter: 20 years ago dan was diagnosed with parkinson's disease, putting his favorite past time on the shelf. >> the doctor told me it was a short period of time or a long period of time but i'll be in a wheelchair eventually. i decided that i didn't want to just take it laying down. >> reporter: while still young at heart, with a strict diet and routine exercise, dan has stayed out of that wheelchair. >> we're 20 years into it, i'm still doing okay. >> reporter: he has been running his own race, beating the odds regardless of his diagnosis. >> it's just parkinson's. >> reporter: a quote he wears proudly on his shirt. >> it was a reaction to people's reaction to me. and they look at me like i'm dying or something. i see the wheelchair orush ib lon tir fay. et it's just parkinson's. >> reporter: strong enough to play

. >> reporter: when robert cochran 's father dan was diagnosed with parkinson's in 2001, he had no idea the force the disease would take in the coming year. all he knew was how important those years immediately became. >> i started asking dad, how can we take advantage of our time, knowing there was this weird ticking clock. >> we were inspired by field of dreams. >> reporter: his desire to help his dad make the most of his life have led to amazing experiences. one summer they visited every major league baseball park and even made a documentary. robert made two more films and was always looking for something his dad would look forward to. >> how can i engage with my dad in things that are interesting to him and bring him joy? >> reporter: one thing that always brought dan joy was runningknown as the runner guy and that was a big deal. b we would join him at the end . >> reporter: dan ran the bay to breakers 7 times but those days are long gone, or maybe not . wanting to give his dad one more chance to experience the raise, robert reached out to the makers of the white running chair. use