Duel In the Sun

I have yet to watch this video w/o crying, I'm not sure exactly why it makes me emotional, but it sure does. (I should say, even in less stressful times in my life than the current times...it still hits me the same)

We have been able to hear Dick Beardsley (white hat in video) speak on a few occasions. 2 years ago at NVM, we were able to hear him speak about the Duel in the Sun. For those who dont' know, Duel in the Sun is a reference to the battle between Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon. There is also a book by the same name, about the same thing, that was published in 2006.(This year they celebrated the anniversary of Duel in the Sun at the NVM expo, but we missed it) It is pretty amazing to watch this having had the experience of hearing him explain what he was thinking, how he was feeling, how he felt when he kicked, when he knew he wouldn't pull it off, and how it effected his life.

I watch it and I can't even imagine how it would feel to finish surrounded by all the cars, bikes, motorcycles, screaming people, cameras....watching it realizing that they are running just under 5 minute miles!! I mean, if you are reading this and you are a runner...can you imagine this sort of a finish?? Really, it wasn't' even just the finish, they ran for miles surrounded like that, neck and neck.....its a pretty amazing moment in the history of the running world!