Running Through Obstacles: Interview with London Marathon winner Dick Beardsley
I recently went one on one with Dick Beardsley. The co-winner of the inaugural London Marathon in 1981, Dick Beardsley became the most famous runner in the world thereafter by losing a race when in the 1982 Boston Marathon he finished two seconds behind Alberto Salazar in a contest often called one of the most memorable in marathon history - after a motorcycle cut him off near the end - in the closest finish ever at the world's premier marathon, as both runners broke the course and American records. After retiring from running, Dick went through several near-fatal accidents that left him addicted to painkillers and had to face the tragic suicide of his son.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your story and your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. What is something about you that would surprise people?
Dick: Having been born and raised in Minnesota, I have been fishing since the age of 2. When I was 12, I started my own fishing guide service. When I was in my late 30’s I owned my own bait shop. I was a competitive distance runner in the 1980’s, I’ve been a motivational/inspirational speaker for 20+ years, and I’m a recovering drug addict, having celebrated 24 years of sobriety in 2021. I was in Texas from 2007 to 2016, and moved back to Minnesota where I have lived all of my life. In addition to the motivational speaking, I own Dick Beardsley Fishing Guide Service and while my wife, Jill does most of the innkeeping, we own Lake Bemidji Bed & Breakfast in northern Minnesota.
Adam: How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Dick: I’ve always been into the outdoors ever since I was a young boy. Running trap lines, fishing and hunting. A good friend of my dad’s, Bernie Backman, was a hunting and fishing guide in Bemidji MN where I now live. I spent a lot of time with him growing up and he was a mentor to me. My goal from a young age was to make a living as a fishing guide. The biggest setback and challenges were when I started guiding at such a young age. Not many people took me seriously. Thankfully that changed fairly quickly. But because of that I realized early on that I had to go the extra mile and do the little extras that made me stand out and be different from guides with more experience than me at that time. To this day I make an effort to continue to provide a little extra for my guide clients.
As far as being a competitive runner, it was very unexpected but it took a while for me to progress to be the best runner I could be. I went out for my high school cross country team when I was a Junior. I didn’t make the varsity team but I almost immediately fell in love with the sport. I made the varsity team as a Senior but never qualified for the state meet in cross country or track. I had wonderful coaches along the way, two in particular. My college coach John Fulkrod who always believed in me who one day after practice put his arm around my shoulder and said “I really believe you can become as good of a runner as you want to be” I never forgot that. The other was coach Bill Squires who became my coach in my 20’s and took me to a level that I had never even dreamed about, one being the 1982 Boston Marathon, running a time of 2:08, losing by 1.6 seconds and another being the 1981 and 1982 Grandma’s Marathon, I was fortunate to win both years and in 1981 set the course record at 2:09, which held for 33 years.
As for being a motivational / inspirational speaker, I was a shy kid and would always slouch at my desk when the teacher was picking kids to stand up and answer questions hoping I wouldn’t be seen but it never worked. When I was 17, I became the president of our local 4-H club so had to stand up in front and lead our monthly meetings. I also, through 4-H did fishing demonstrations at the Minnesota State Fair, in front of lots of people and that made me become more comfortable. Then when my running took off, I would be invited to speak at the pasta supper the night before a race, and it continued to grow from there. Now I’ve been invited to be the keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, conferences, conventions, corporate events, fundraisers, galas, sporting events, prisons, schools and drug treatment centers, to name a few. I am more confident as I have spoken to countless number of groups all over the world, ranging in size from 5 people to 15,000 people. I do, however, get butterflies in my stomach before every talk, but once I get started, my stomach settles down.
In late 1989 I was in a very serious and life threatening farming accident and was lucky to survive, that followed with a bad car accident, getting hit by a truck while out running, falling off a cliff, each being in the hospital and numerous surgeries and I became addicted to narcotic pain killers. At the peak of my addiction, I was taking a cocktail of Percocet, Demoral and Valium, 80 – 90 pills a day. I was doctor shopping at the time, because all I cared about was getting the pills and taking the pills. I was ultimately caught and that started my road to sobriety. Thankfully I just celebrated my 24th year of sobriety in 2021.
Adam: What are your best tips on how to manage challenging situations and overcome obstacles?
Dick: My faith has kept me going through all of this as I’m not sure I’d still be here if it wasn’t for that. My family and close friends especially my wife, Jill, have always been there and been very supportive. It would have been easy for them to turn their backs but no one ever did. Finally, what I try and do every morning is wake up with a smile on my face, enthusiasm in my voice, joy in my heart, and faith in my soul. Those four things have gotten me through many difficult things in my life.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Dick: Confidence, to accept constructive criticism and have a positive attitude.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Dick: A willingness to fail but continuing to put one foot in front of the other despite setbacks.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Dick: Be fair, be understanding, be encouraging.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Dick: I’ve received many but the one that sticks out came from my high school hockey coach. The fall of my Senior year, hockey season was about to begin and my coach brought me into his office one day and said “Beards, you can’t play on the JV team as a Senior, I see you out running every morning, perhaps you should put more emphasis on that” I took him up on that advice and traded my skates for running shoes and eventually my running took me to the top.
Adam: What is one thing everyone should do to pay it forward?
Dick: Be kind to each other, and help out and mentor when the opportunity arises.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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