Dick Beardsley: Running Icon
Posted February 14th, 2008 at 3:49 PM by Stephanie Lowe
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Success Stories, Special Features, Interviews
Eleven years since an addiction to narcotic pain killers could have ended his life, Dick Beardsley is now a motivational speaker, coach and – once again – a competitive runner.
Beardsley, 51, grew up in Minnesota, but recently moved to Austin, Texas, where he and his wife, Jill, started the Dick Beardsley Foundation. The Foundation raises money for people with chemical dependencies and educates children and young adults about their health. Beardsley travels to schools to speak about his experiences with a drug addiction.
“I was really close to going to sleep one night and not waking up,” he said. Beardsley was regularly taking 80-90 pills every day by the time he was caught forging his prescription. “You do things you would never think about doing. All that mattered to me at the time was to get the drugs.”
Beardsley’s addiction stemmed from a series of accidents that left him hospitalized. After his elite running career, Beardsley worked on his farm. In 1989, he broke several bones, including his ribs and arm, after he was entangled in an auger. He then injured his back and neck in a car accident in 1992, was hit by a truck while running in 1993, and was involved in another car accident in 1994. He eventually built a tolerance to the pain medication he was given.
“Even though my legs and back were doing better, mentally I thought I needed the drugs,” Beardsley explained.
Since his recovery, Beardsley has turned his life around. He said he has always had an addictive personality, which he now applies to training. Despite his busy schedule, Beardsley finds time to run 80-90 miles each week, even if he has to do it at 2:00 AM.
“I’ve always been a high mileage guy,” he said. “[I] make time.”
When he was younger, Beardsley typically ran 120-140 miles per week. He credits his high base mileage, rather than natural talent, to his running success. Beardsley blames the decline of U.S. distance running in the 1990s on the belief that less mileage is just as effective.
“There are no shortcuts,” Beardsley said. “You’ve got to be training on the edge of breaking down.”
The closest he ever came to breaking down during a race was his famous “Duel in the Sun” with Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon. Salazar and Beardsley battled the heat and each other in one of the closest, most exciting races in marathon history. Marathons did not have official aid stations at the time, so the runners drank water given to them by fans to survive the hot temperatures, which Beardsley said reached the low 80’s. Beardsley ran a 2:08:53 marathon personal record that day, only 2 seconds behind Salazar.
“Neither one of us should have run as well as we did that day,” he described. “I left a piece of me on that Boston Marathon course.”
Beardsley’s favorite race of his career was a year before the 1982 Boston race, at the 1981 Grandma’s Marathon, in Duluth, MN. He broke the course record in 2:09:37 with his family there to support him. Beardsley said the main reason it was a memorable experience was that his mother and father came.
Now that Beardsley has returned to competitive running, he is training for another one of his favorite races, the Napa Valley Marathon, where he set the course record of 2:16:20 in 1987. The Napa Valley Marathon will be held on March 2nd, 2008.
“I still love to compete,” he said. “I try to train as hard as I can for my age. I’m not as smooth as I used to be.”
Beardsley does more strength training than he used to do, including push-ups and 400-500 crunches every day. He said his core is stronger now than when he was at his peak. In addition to his own running and motivational speaking, Beardsley is an online coach and hosts the Dick Beardsley Marathon Running Camp. Inspired by his own former coach, Bill Squires, Beardsley individualizes his athletes’ training.
“I’m so fortunate to have a job that I love to do,” he explained. “It doesn’t seem like a job.”
Although he coaches runners of every level, Beardsley closely follows the professional side of the sport. He looks forward to the 2008 Olympic Marathon.
“I’m really excited about the new crop of guys. All three (Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Brian Sell) have an opportunity,” Beardsley said. “They’re training a lot like we did 25 years ago.”
He stated that he is somewhat concerned about Ryan Hall’s decision to run the London Marathon this April, but that Hall seems confident with his training.
“I wish he would wait and get ready for Beijing, [but] I think Ryan has a good head on his shoulders,” he explained. “Ryan Hall is the real deal.”
Despite some obstacles, Beardsley overcame his mistakes to become the running icon he is today. “Running is a wonderful thing,” Beardsley said. “[I] want this to be a life-long sport.”
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Tags: addiction, Alberto Salazar, Bill Squires, boston, coach, Dick Beardsley, dick beardsley foundation, Duel in the Sun, Grandmas, marathon, Napa Valley, pain killers, running icon, Ryan Hall, speaker
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The Final Sprint