Dick is currently the third fastest American-born man in the marathon and joint winner of the first London Marathon in 2:11:48 (29 March 1981). But he's most famous for the race he didn't win (despite a 2:08:53 time!), one of the subjects of the 2006 book, Duel in the Sun by John Brant. And Dick has written his own inspirational autobiography Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race recounting the stunning race in Boston that made him a celebrity and the difficult years that followed and his about him is his climb back to health after becoming addicted to pain medication after a farm accident.
The Dick Beardsley Foundation was recently established to help individuals who cannot afford treatment for chemical dependency. The work of the Foundation allows Dick to travel around the country, talking to children about positive, active lifestyles, and being chemically free.
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