When I started writing this blog on justice and endurance a couple months ago, I had no idea that I would soon be meeting one of the greatest marathoners in U.S. history, a man who also overcame addiction and a felony drug conviction. This last Friday, I had the incredible honor of befriending Dick Beardsley and listening to his story of becoming a world class marathoner and beating an addiction to pain killers.
Beardsley rose to running prominence in the early 1980s, winning several notable races, including the London Marathon. Without question, Dick’s best known race was his battle with the great Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon. Beardsley would finish 2 seconds behind the Olympian Salazar in a race that is famously known as “The Duel in the Sun.” Salazar would win his 3rd consecutive Boston Marathon that day, but it was Beardsley who is remembered for his gutty performance, leading the race for most of miles 17 through 25, when he and Salazar broke away from the pack. The local press had given him little chance in the race, dubbing him a “bumpkin” from Minnesota.
The lead pack ran the initial mile in 4:33, which would set the blistering pace for that day. Salazar was the heavy favorite, and in ultimately winning, he clocked a new course record of 2:08:52, with Beardsley finishing second at 2:08:54. After 26.2 miles of endurance chess, the margin of difference was razor thin at the finish.
“I remember crossing the finish line, and the clock is reading 2:08-something. There were only like one or two other people who had broken 2:09, and I’m thinking, ‘Wait a minute, I just ran a 2:08, and I finished second!’”[1]
Beardsley would later say, “As I was finishing that race, I told myself, ‘I’ll never face anything so difficult as this again.’ But I was so wrong,”[2]
Following his performance in Boston, many sportswriters picked Dick as a favorite to make the 1984 Olympic team. Unfortunately, like so many great athletes, injuries would derail Beardsley’s career, forcing him into retirement by the late 1980s. By his own admission, Dick’s life would later become “pure hell.” Beardsley would endure multiple freak accidents post-retirement. Two of the injuries included a truck striking him while running in Fargo, North Dakota, and most significantly, his entire body, left leg in particular, was torn apart by a tractor accident in his native Minnesota.
Through those crippling mishaps, Beardsley became addicted to pain killers by the early 1990s, at times taking as many as 80 pills a day. It provided him with a front row view of the current opioid epidemic plaguing America, and also got him caught up in the criminal justice system. While Dick did not speak much at all about his felony drug conviction during his talk at the University of Wyoming (UW), he didn’t need to. It’s in the past and clearly not a measure of this remarkable man. He did say that it was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he described his faith and personal recovery process, including the excruciating withdrawal from methadone that he suffered through.
Dick Beardsley took the time to meet with me and discuss this blog post and my work in trying to reform the criminal justice system, and for that I am grateful. He’s funny, self-deprecating, and he truly cares about people. It was a joy and pleasure meeting him. He is a living example of the power of human resilience and redemption, and his presentation to the campus was life changing for me and so many of the students and other audience members. The picture of the audience that I took shows a crowded house, and there was a balcony above with bunches of students not in the picture. I laughed and cried, although it was mainly laughs.
Beardsley is also a best-selling author and has written or co-written several books, including Duel in the Sun and Staying the Course: A Runner’s Toughest Race. If you’re interested in learning more, here’s his website:
One thing Dick said about that accident with his tractor was that immediately before he went to use the machine, he hesitated and almost headed inside the farm house to tell his family he loved them. Instead, he continued on with his chores and was nearly mangled to death by the tractor. His message was simple: never pass up an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
Classes start Monday, so I will hopefully be posting some future articles about upcoming events here at UW. Maybe nothing quite as motivational as Dick Beardsley’s talk, but I’ll see what I can come up with. Until then, peace.
[1] https://lakesarearadio.net/2022/04/19/dick-beardsley-alberto-salazar-boston-marathon/
[2] https://apnews.com/631df27631724f71ba7edf5c9dcc4d41