Hopkinton’s Dan Hausermann, shown with his family, is running to support the Demons Youth Hockey program.

Dan Hausermann last ran 26.2 miles a decade ago, completing the Vermont City Marathon. This year, he is making a return to the distance at the world’s most famous marathon, and he and his family’s love for hockey is driving the comeback.

“Both of my kids play for Demons Youth Hockey,” Hausermann, 39, said, noting that his oldest son, Bryce, has been playing for three years and his younger son, Nolan, just completed his first. His wife, Abbie, coaches the team and Hausermann serves as an assistant.

“It’s kind of a family affair,” he said. “We are all often at the rink helping out or playing for the Demons.”

Hausermann has completed a couple of half marathons since the 2015 VCM and said he has always wanted to run the Boston Marathon, particularly since moving to Hopkinton.

“That energy that comes with living in town on marathon day, I always said while watching, ‘I am going to do this next year,’ ” Hausermann said.

“Next year” having finally arrived, Hausermann has been training on parts of the course in Framingham and some of the hills he will have to run on race day. He said the excitement is palpable, even without the crowds of people lining the route.

“The energy that you feel when you’re just running, but there are other people training for the race, is awesome,” he said. “People are running by you, high-fiving you, cheering for you, and this is a training run on a Saturday in March.”

Hausermann said he has points to look forward to all along the route, from the start in his town to running through Natick where he taught for 10 years and still knows many families of the kids who were in his classes. And, of course, he said the finish line is going to be great, as is running to fundraise (givengain.com/project/dan-raising-funds-for-demons-youth-hockey-association-90381) for an organization that plays such a big part in the lives of his entire family.

“We have developed a great circle of friends and a big part of our community in town, a lot of them are hockey families,” he said. “We spent a lot of time together inside and outside of the rink. Hockey has played a big part in that, so it will be some extra motivation to see some of those hockey families along the route and get to wear some Demons gear and represent an organization that has been really important to us.”

After suffering an injury last year, Hausermann said his primary goal through training and the race itself is not to get hurt. He admits his training regimen is a little less rigorous than it was when he was in his 20s, but he is healthy and looking forward to race day.

“The plan is to see my family in Hopkinton, probably somewhere in the Wellesley area, and then hopefully at the finish line,” he said. “And along the way, I want to just enjoy the experience.”