Dick Beardsley

Dick Beardsley

Dick Beardsley (born March 21, 1956 in Minneapolis , Minnesota ) is a retired American marathon runner .

In 1977 he ran his first marathon in 2:47:14 h and improved his time on each of his subsequent twelve marathons, which earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records . In the US qualifying marathon for the 1980 Olympic Games , he was 2:16:01 h for the first time under 2:20, and after he had secured a sponsorship deal and was able to intensify his training, he was ninth in the New York City Marathon of the same year in 2:13:55. In 1981 he was first second in the Houston Marathon in 2:12:48, then third in the Beppu-Ōita Marathon in 2:12:41, and finally he and Inge Simonsen won the first edition of the London Marathon on March 29 in 2:11:48. The 13th best time in the 13th marathon was finally the course record of 2:09:37 that he set at the Grandma's Marathon in 1981 and which is still in place (as of 2009).

The series of best times broke at the Stockholm Marathon of the same year, in which Beardsley finished second in 2:16:17 behind marathon legend Bill Rodgers . In 1982 he repeated his second place in Houston, and then followed the Boston Marathon the most spectacular race of his career, which as Duel in the Sun went down in history. In the closest duel in the history of this most traditional of all marathons, Alberto Salazar won two seconds ahead of Beardsley. Both runners broke both the distance and the US record, and Beardsley is still (as of 2009) in fifth place on the US all-time best list. After another victory at Grandma's Marathon, problems arose on his Achilles tendon , which required several operations and made competitions impossible for a long time. Beardley focused on building a farm and business in the recreational fishing field . Although he managed to qualify for the US elimination race for the 1988 Olympic Games , there was only 45th place.

In 1989 he suffered a serious accident involving an agricultural machine, and other accidents that befell him over the years, including a collision with a car during one of his training runs, required a series of operations. Taking the pain medication prescribed for him developed into a drug addiction , which worsened when his father developed cancer and died. In 1996 he was convicted of falsifying the recipe, and a lengthy withdrawal ensued .

One result of this experience was the establishment of the Dick Beardsley Foundation. The purpose of this foundation is to educate about the dangers of drug consumption and lead young people to a healthy lifestyle.

In 2002 he published his autobiography Staying the Course. In 2004 he ran his best marathon time since his farm accident with 2:43:58. In 2007 he married and opened a sports shop in Fargo . In 2009 he was fitted with a prosthetic knee .

A half marathon in Detroit Lakes ( Minnesota ) is named in his honor.

literature

• Dick Beardsley & Maureen Anderson: Staying The Course: A Runner's Toughest Race. University of Minnesota Press, 2004, ISBN 0816637598
• John Brant: Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon. Rodale, 2006, ISBN 1-59486-262-1

Web links

• Official website of the Dick Beardsley Running Company
• Official website of the Dick Beardsley Foundation
• Dick Beardsley's blog
• Happy return for the first foot soldier , portrait of Simon Turnbull in the Independent , April 8, 2001

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dick Beardsley Run: History ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ arrs.run: All-Time Performances - Marathon Road (USA)
3. ↑ Official website of the Dick Beardsley Run ( memento of the original from September 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.