Massachusetts native and "Survivor" contestant Charlie Davis prepares to run Boston Marathon
BOSTON -- People who finish the Boston Marathon survive more than 26 miles of running, but come Monday, only one can say he was also on "Survivor".
Charlie Davis is competing on the hit CBS show this season. He is trying to outlast 18 other competitors on the island of Fiji. The Massachusetts native is currently a law student at Boston College, but he also ran for the Harvard track team.
"Survivor really is a lot like running. It is just getting to the next stage, whether it's mile to mile or vote to vote," said Davis. "I am hoping some of the lessons from Survivor can help up the hills. Any runner will tell you a marathon is a totally different beast than anything you have done before."
He will be running in the Boston Marathon this year to raise money for Casa Myrna. The organization is working to end domestic violence.
"They run the domestic violence hotline in Massachusetts. They have resources for domestic violence, dating violence, and survivors," explains Davis.
Taylor Swift on the marathon playlist
When it comes to the show, he says "Survivor" is more about competing against people than the challenges. On Monday, he will only be competing against himself. On the show, he made it clear that he is a huge Taylor Swift fan. At one point, he held a music competition with a fellow tribe member. He was able to name more than 100 Taylor Swift songs. Her music will be in his ears for the race, but he can't pick just one song to jam to.
"I am going to give you a go-to album, which is 'Reputation' by Taylor Swift. She's got some really good, intense songs," said Davis. "Honestly, I think there's an art to making a marathon playlist. In the beginning you don't want to be sprinting."
Charlie would not tell us if he won "Survivor". He sees a lot of similarities between running and the game show, but he won't know which is harder until he finishes the marathon.
"There are no vote outs in the marathon, but you can certainly take yourself out of the race if you make some mistakes," said Davis. "The hardest part is holding yourself back, then giving everything you have for the last six miles."
"Survivor" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on WBZ-TV.
