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Join us for a motivational talk by Dick Beardsley, one of America's most celebrated distance runners. His amazing story of triumph and tragedy captivates every audience who has the opportunity to hear his story. This is one talk you do not want to miss!

RSVP required for this complimentary event.

FREE Parking at the Rosslyn Spectrum. Also steps from the Rosslyn METRO.

This event is brought to you by Fitness Together, New Balance, Pacers Running Stores, and the George Washington Parkway Classic.

The event is complimentary but we are accepting donations for the Boys & Girls Club, the beneficiary partner of the George Washington Parkway Classic.

About Dick:

For a brief moment in the early '80s Dick Beardsley became the most famous runner in the world - by losing a race. In the 1982 Boston Marathon, Beardsley, foiled by a motorcycle that cut him off near the end, finished two seconds behind Alberto Salazar in a contest often called one of the most memorable in marathon history. It was the closest finish ever at the world's premier marathon, and both runners broke the course and the American records.

Dick's book Staying the Course recounts the stunning race that made Dick Beardsley a celebrity and the difficult years that followed, including his recovery from a near-fatal farm accident, his subsequent addiction to painkillers, and a very public arrest for forging prescriptions. His story of overcoming extreme obstacles speaks to anyone who loves competition, who has survived catastrophe, or who has pursued a seemingly impossible goal.

Honest and engaging, Beardsley recalls his rise from Minnesota small-town kid and mediocre runner to celebrated athlete. He gives an exhilarating description of the Boston race and its unexpected obstacles: he was accosted by a fan, sideswiped by a bus, hobbled by a charley horse, and derailed by a motorcycle cop. He also writes with great candor of his retirement from marathoning to run a dairy farm, the accidents that followed, his addiction, the humiliation of his arrest, and his struggle to sobriety.

RSVP at the Pacers website.