Have faith, marathoner counsels kids

No one would have faulted Dick Beardsley for getting a little down.

In the years after he lost the 1982 Boston Marathon by seconds, the American runner nearly died after getting trapped in farm equipment, injured his back after a car accident, was hit by a truck while on a run, fell down a cliff while hiking and overcome an addiction to pain medication.

“I wouldn’t believe it myself if it hadn’t actually happened to me,” he told a group of students at Notre Dame High School on Friday.

Still the famous runner, who is in Red Deer to participate in the Woody’s RV World half marathon on Sunday, said his story is not one to be pitied but instead is proof that the human spirit can overcome anything.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Beardsley said he started running in high school as a way to get a girlfriend.

“I thought that all I needed to do was get that letter on my jacket and the girls would flock to me,” he joked.

But he found that running didn’t come naturally.

“People assume I came out of the womb with running shoes on but I was terrible,” he said.

But with practise, he began to get better.

The 52-year-old is best known for being half of the famous “Duel in the Sun” at the 1982 Boston Marathon.

Beardsley battled side by side with runner Alberto Salazar almost the entire race.

With about 900 metres left, he pulled a muscle and fell behind.

“I thought I was done for but then decided that I couldn’t just give up,” he said.

Using “strength I didn’t know I had,” Beardsley caught back up to the leader.

Then, with the finish line nearing, he was cut off by a police motorcycle escorting the runners.

He lost the race by two seconds.

“Talk about the perfect excuse,” he said. “Everyone would have believed it, except me.”

Beardsley said he doesn’t blame the motorcycle for losing the race.

“I caught up to Alberto after that, the fact is he just had a better kick at the end,” he said.

Beardsley went on to win a number of marathons in his career and holds the course record for the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn.

After his series of accidents and subsequent hospital visits, Beardsley became addicted to pain medication, taking up to 90 pills a day, and eventually was arrested for forging prescriptions in 1996.

“Being caught saved my life,” he told the students. “I don’t blame the doctors for giving me the pills, it is important you take responsibility for yourself.”

Beardsley said he hopes his story will inspire the students to “just keep moving forward and persevere even if you don’t think you can do it and eventually you will achieve.”

Contact Ashley Joannou at ajoannou@reddeeradvocate.com