• Front Page
  • About Brink Thinking
  • About The Show
  • Brink Charities
  • Blog
  • Podcast

Consider this your respite from the outside world. Read the blogs, listen to the podcasts, and watch the videos that accompany many of the stories. Enjoy!

Greatness@AmericaOutLoud.com
Brink of GreatnessBrink of Greatness
Brink of Greatness
Celebrating the best of
humanity with some of the
coolest people on the planet
  • Front Page
  • About Brink Thinking
  • About The Show
  • Brink Charities
  • Blog
  • Podcast
šŸŽ§ A Farming Accident Turned Tragic, Suicide & Setbacks, Dick Beardsley Runs Life’s Marathon

šŸŽ§ A Farming Accident Turned Tragic, Suicide & Setbacks, Dick Beardsley Runs Life’s Marathon

Posted by Malcolm Out Loud, Talk Radio Host, Brink Thinker Podcast

“When I stood on the starting line at the Boston Marathon two runners down from Alberto Salazar (then the world record holder) and Bill Rodgers (four-time winner at the Boston Marathon), I wondered, ‘Dick, what in the heck are you doing on the same line with these guys?’“

It was at that moment that an inner voice spoke to Dick Beardsley with a reassuring message.
“Dick, you deserve to be here, you’ve done the work.”

If the name Dick Beardsley seems somewhat familiar to you, then you might be remembering the 1982 Boston Marathon. Beardsley was in a squeaker of a race with Alberto Salazar, fact is, it was the closest finish in history of the marathon, as both runners broke records. The most memorable moment of that race was when a motorcycle cut Beardsley off near the end of the marathon, a marathon which he lost inside of two seconds. You have to be thinking, how did Beardsley ever get over that race! Was he able to accept the results and move on with his life? And how is the man doing today?

It was years later in 1989, when Dick was working at his dairy farm, that a tragic accident with a tractor would change his life forever. Although he managed to stop the equipment, the damage was done. “To this day, I still don’t remember how I did it,” Dick recalls. “I broke all the ribs on my right side, my right arm, mangled my left leg, and beat up my head pretty badly. I was crawling on my belly toward the house when I was found. I was laid up for five months.”

That would begin a dark and challenging chapter of Dick Beardsley’s life. He was involved in three serious automobile accidents. Blind-sided by another driver, and Dick spent 15 days in the hospital with an injured back and neck. Another time, he was hit by a truck, which put him back in the hospital for two weeks. A month later, again in a fierce snowstorm, he was in an accident, and rolled his vehicle numerous times, damaging his already tender back and neck. He underwent three back operations and knee surgery.

Each time, Dick was prescribed medication for the pain. At times, he was taking as many as 90 pills a day. “I knew I was addicted,” Dick recalls. “But at the same time, I was in denial.” 

His addiction had spun out of control, big time. “My whole world revolved around pain medication.”

Dick Beardsley was arrested September 1996. Charged with forging prescriptions, he was sentenced to five years’ probation and 460 hours of community service.

This moment was a clarion-call that something had to change!

A story of life’s worse moments, including the suicide of his only son, Andy, and how one man survives it all. Now only does he survive it all, but his outlook and optimism will give you hope and appreciation that life’s blessings are bigger than any one moment!

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Wow! What an incredible story. I hope you get as much out of it as I did. My sense is that we’ve picked up a great new friend in Dick Beardsley. I want to use this time to fill you in on some of the cool things Dick is doing in the world today.

Motivational/Inspirational Speaker ā€¢ Suicide Survivor of Loss • Farm Accident Survivor •  Prescription Drug Addiction Survivor • Record Breaking Marathon Runner • Famous 1982 Boston Marathon Runner ā€¢  Minnesota Native •  Author  ā€¢  Fishing Guide ā€¢ Innkeeper ā€¢ Husband •  Father •  Subject of a feature film.

Dick Beardsley is one of the world’s most extraordinary, well respected, and compelling motivational / inspirational keynote speakers. Dick’s inspirational international best selling autobiography Staying the Course, A Runners Toughest Race and the subject of the best selling book Duel in the Sun:  The Story of Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America’s Greatest Marathon. Dick is also the subject of a feature film being produced entitled Against the Wind.

Dick has been 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.  Anywhere motivation, inspiration and hope is needed. Dick has spoken to countless number of groups all over the world, ranging in size from 5 people to 15,000 people.

Brink Notes:
Website:  https://www.dickbeardsley.com/
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dickbeardsley

As Promised, the link to Dick and Jill’s Bed & Breakfast: https://www.lakebemidjibandb.com/.

Tweet
Flip
Share
Pin
Share
0
Share

About Malcolm Out Loud, Talk Radio Host, Brink Thinker

Editor-in-Chief of America Out Loud, Radio Personality, Host of Viewpoint The News Magazine; and the daily show Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Pleasure, he hosts with ten extraordinary women from around the globe; now in it’s third season. Founder of the Brink of Greatnessā„¢; created as a platform to showcase the greatness that thrives in so many of us. People that need to be celebrated and cherished, a spotlight on the good of humanity. For over two decades, Malcolm Out Loud has worked in America’s corporate boardrooms. He was known as the ā€˜Big Idea Catalyst’ in the advertising and marketing world, prior to making the leap to the mic in June 2010. He is an Inspirational Speaker with a desire to lift people up through his two keynote messages: BRINKSTORMINGā„¢: Your Next Great Idea and UNLOCK YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL: Cure The 5 Human Ailmentsā„¢.

SEARCH THE BRINK

Trending on the Brink of Greatness:

  • Shoplifting & The Human Psyche
    Shoplifting & The Human Psyche Police officers see it all from sunrise to sunset, and...
    Read More
  • Riley Howell Stops UNC Campus Shooter in Ultimate Sacrifice Protecting Students
    Riley Howell Stops UNC Campus Shooter in Ultimate Sacrifice Protecting Students The scene has become all to familiar. Another mass shooting...
    Read More
  • 11 yr old Teaches Forgiveness
    11 yr old Teaches Forgiveness ā€œMy daughter has not seen her biological dad since she...
    Read More
  • Giving Hope and Home to Teens, Joe Toles Adopts a Different Strategy
    Giving Hope and Home to Teens, Joe Toles Adopts a Different Strategy Considering the number of children that have no parents, and...
    Read More
  • Shantell ā€œShannieā€ Pooser Dreams of Being A Flight Attendant Against All Odds
    Shantell ā€œShannieā€ Pooser Dreams of Being A Flight Attendant Against All Odds ā€œI want to be a flight attendant,ā€ says 17-year-old Shantell...
    Read More

Contact Us

Send us an email with your suggestions, comments, or ideas for a brighter future!

Send Message

Must Read Brink Stories

  • Shoplifting & The Human Psyche
  • Riley Howell Stops UNC Campus Shooter in Ultimate Sacrifice Protecting Students
  • 11 yr old Teaches Forgiveness
  • Giving Hope and Home to Teens, Joe Toles Adopts a Different Strategy

Incredible Brink Stories on Podcast

  • šŸŽ§ Human Trafficking Almost Killed Her, Norma Bastidas Fights Back
  • šŸŽ§ Rob Jones: Survive, Recover, Live
  • šŸŽ§ Janelle Towne Redefines homeless with furnishings, love and respect!
  • šŸŽ§ One Bed at a Time, Luke Mickelson Wants Kids off the Floor, Top 10 CNN Heroes

Search The Brink

PODCAST QUICK LINKS

Subscribe Podcast

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

iHeart Podcast

Also on TuneInĀ 

Contact Us Via Email Here

Greatness@AmericaOutLoud.com

TALK RADIO QUICK LINKS

Listen Live 24/7

iHeart Radio

Get the Apple APP

Get the Android APP

Available on ALEXA

Ā© 2021 America Out Loud Network Worldwide

  • About Brink Thinking
  • About The Show
  • Brink Charities
  • LISTEN LIVE
Prev Next