Need some motivation after a week that was likely filled with overeating and underexercising? Take a look at the story of Dick Beardsley, at left with another friend of Garmin, Runner's World Chief Running Officer Bart Yasso. Dick trains with a Garmin Forerunner and inspires runners of all talents and ages wherever he goes.

If you aren't familar with Dick Beardsley's story, Dick grew up with alcoholic parents but in his younger years he did not smoke, drink, do drugs - yet Dick still became a drug addict. Prior to his addiction - which he has since conquered - Dick started his elite running career as a mediocre athlete at best. Now he is one of the best Grandmaster distance runners in the country.

He is best known for his "Duel in the Sun" with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon. He finished in 2:08:53, just 2 seconds behind Salazar. His 2:08:53 time 1982 Boston Marathon is still the 5th fastest marathon time in the United States. Dick has won several prestigious races, including the first London Marathon, Napa Valley Marathon and the Grandma’s Marathon, the latter two, Dick still holds the course record.

In the fall of 1989, Dick was involved in a bad farm accident on his Minnesota dairy farm. Dick was using an auger on the back of a tractor to lift corn into a crib. Somehow he became entangled in the auger and it began to tear him apart. Before he lost consciousness, he managed to stop the machine. Dick had broken all of his ribs on his right side, his right arm, mangled his left leg, and beat up his head pretty badly. He was lucky to survive, but he was severely injured which required numerous surgeries and much rehabilitation. It is from that accident that Dick had his first taste of the pain killer Demerol.

He did recover and everything was fine for two and a half years when he got into a bad car accident and busted up his back and had severe whiplash along with a badly bruised spinal cord. More surgeries followed along with more narcotics.

Fortunately he was able to get back and even run a bit again, until he was struck by a truck while on a run, back in the hospital, more surgeries and more drugs. After all of this and several more accidents he became addicted to the narcotics. He started doctor shopping and then when he could not find any more doctors to give him the drugs he started to forge his own prescriptions. By August of 1996 he was taking a cocktail of Demerol, Percocet, Vicodin, and Xanax, 80-90 pills a day!

On September 30, 1996, Dick got caught. He knew he was in for a huge uphill battle, but he was so blessed and thankful that he was still alive. Dick spent nine days in a psychiatric unit of a hospital in Fargo, ND, and was put on a drug called Methadone, to which he became addicted. After his first hospital stay he immediately entered a treatment program. Three times they tried to wean him from the Methadone, but the withdrawals were so bad they put him back on it. He finally entered the University of Minnesota Treatment Facility in February 1997 and has been drug-free ever since.

Dick’s autobiography was published in 2002 "Staying the Course: A Runners Toughest Race". In October of 2007, Dick started the Dick Beardsley Foundation (www.dickbeardsleyfoundation.org) to help others with chemical dependencies receive treatment who can't afford it. Dick also travels to schools across the country to talk to kids about leading healthy, active, lifestyles chemically free.

Comments

[George]

Wow, I knew about the duel in the son, but I did not know about the rest. What a wild ride Dick has had. I admire him all the more for getting through all of that and helping others.