No obstacle too great for Ball

Some people give you enough inspiration to last a lifetime.
Rick Ball is that type of guy.
I’ve written about Rick before, but in case you didn’t read those posts, Rick lost his leg in a motorcycle accident years ago.
About a year and a half ago, he took up running.
But he didn’t only take up running.
He has broken through any barrier set before him.
He ran his first marathon in 3:17:38.
For those of you who don’t know, that is an amazing time by anyone’s standard one leg or two.
If that wasn’t impressive enough he ran his second marathon in 3:10:11.
When he dropped by Thornhill in February to speak about his running with my marathon clinic, he said he was chasing the world record for a marathon run by an amputee.
The record was 3:04:16 held by multiple record holder Amy Palmiero-Winters who ran that in the Chicago Marathon in 2006.
When he spoke I have to admit I can be a bit of a sceptic, but something about how relaxed he was made me believe him.
In fact, I would have been surprised if he didn’t do it.
He was on my mind during the day, as I was wondered how he was doing.
The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious marathons you can run in. It’s the only one you need to qualify with a certain time to get into and when you get there its not an easy marathon route.
The best of the best go there and Rick joined them for the first time on Monday.
And of course he broke the world record with an amazing run at 3:01:50.
To give you an idea about the kind of guy Rick is, he dropped me an e-mail after someone found the first blog I wrote about him.
He thanked me for writing about him.
He values everyone’s kind words, almost a little surprised at how inspiring he is to all of us.
The thing about Rick is that he is real. He didn’t candy coat the race. He was suffering with cramps, he was dizzy and he ended up in a wheel chair where he almost passed out.
He admitted it was the hardest thing he’s ever done.
He left it all out there on the roads in Boston.
It’s something to be admired. How could you not be inspired after seeing that effort?
I heard him on the radio this morning being interviewed and typically as each goal he sets, he meets, he’s already got another.
He wants to go to compete at the Olympic level in London, England in 2012.
He also wants to break the three hour mark in his next marathon.
I couldn’t think of better goals to aim for than that.
In case you’re reading Rick, congrats on a race result well deserved.