Four Boston Marathons. One Day.
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Four Boston Marathons. One Day.
He could once run no longer than 15 seconds.
But David Clark crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon in April and said, “If I had known it was going to be this hard I would have done it sooner.”
However, Clark didn't just run it once. He ran it four times in one day.
"I did it for addiction awareness and I structured the logistics of the run around that them," Clark explained.
Clark finished every marathon for a specific cause dealing with addiction, such as for those struggling with addiction, those in recovery, families who are affected by addiction, and ran the last marathon with the mother whose daughter died of a heroin overdose.
When it was all said and done, Clark ran for 24 hours and 17 minutes non-stop.
But Clark was not always the athletic runner he is today. He was married as well as a 320-pound alcoholic addicted to painkillers 15 years ago.
Clark says it all started when he was 13 years old.
"It wasn't your normal 13-year-old [consumption]. You know I went in really deep and really fast," Clark recalled.
It wasn't until he was 20 when he started to realize he was heading towards rock bottom.
"I got really into drugs and alcohol and speed as well as staying up for days at a time. It all just crashed on me and I walked away from it, but I never really got sober," Clark remembered.
Despite walking away from drugs and alcohol, his demons would always return.
"I spent the last 10 years doing a bottle of whiskey a day. I was eating painkillers like they were tic-tacs," the experienced runner said matter-of-factly.
While struggling with addiction, a 29-year-old Clark had a wife, kids and owned a large company. He tried to hide his demons from his family, but his marriage began suffering as the darker side of him bled threw.
"She knew what was going on. She was probably afraid to confront me [and] thought I was an emotional bully," Clark said.
His wife eventually left him to overcome his problems. He began gaining weight and eventually reaching 320 pounds.
"I was just out of control. [The food and drugs] were not my problems. They were the symptoms," the marathon runner explained.
Clark began to understand where the seeds of his problems were.
Since he began drinking at an early age, Clark said, "I didn't know how to live life. I couldn't be still. If things were good I had to drink, use drugs or eat. If things were going bad I had to do that."
After experiencing an epiphany, Clark had another challenge to face as he began to rebuild his life.
"I realized that what I was doing was very much tied into to who I thought I was. I viewed myself as a tragic guy and when starting over I had to find the will to believe that maybe that was a lie and I was meant to be someone else," Clark said.
At that moment, everything began falling into place for Clark and he started running to get his life back on track.
His first didn't last very long, just 15 seconds.
"I would try not to vomit. My knees felt like they were going to shatter," Clark recalled.
Even so, in the difficult times of running Clark found beauty in the struggle.
"It needed to be hard because the emotional stakes were and had to be high. There couldn't have been a smaller change for me," Clark said.
Today, Clark is the person he always wanted and meant to be. He authored a new book titled Out There. It's an in depth look at his thought process of being addicted and his fears of recovery as well as conquering that fear of change.
But, the book, at first, was never meant to be released.
“I wasn't sure if I would really release it. I meant to write it for me. It's a really honest telling of what I was thinking about."
Clark also mentions that he didn't want to glamorize his ordeal.
“I talk about more of the humiliating and shameful things," Clark said.
Clark says the book is for everybody as it creates a blueprint for anyone who wants to make a change in their life.
"I'm going to put the worst and best of me out there and let it go. I don't need it anymore," Clark explained.
Clark now lives in Boulder, Colorado and owns his owns his own Snap Fitness and plans do more "crazy" events in the future.
When asked if he would ever do four marathons in one day again, Clark answered," I'm going to leave Boston alone. It is a beautiful experience at the finish line."
Copyright 2015 WBRC. All rights reserved.
But David Clark crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon in April and said, “If I had known it was going to be this hard I would have done it sooner.”
However, Clark didn't just run it once. He ran it four times in one day.
"I did it for addiction awareness and I structured the logistics of the run around that them," Clark explained.
Clark finished every marathon for a specific cause dealing with addiction, such as for those struggling with addiction, those in recovery, families who are affected by addiction, and ran the last marathon with the mother whose daughter died of a heroin overdose.
When it was all said and done, Clark ran for 24 hours and 17 minutes non-stop.
But Clark was not always the athletic runner he is today. He was married as well as a 320-pound alcoholic addicted to painkillers 15 years ago.
Clark says it all started when he was 13 years old.
"It wasn't your normal 13-year-old [consumption]. You know I went in really deep and really fast," Clark recalled.
It wasn't until he was 20 when he started to realize he was heading towards rock bottom.
"I got really into drugs and alcohol and speed as well as staying up for days at a time. It all just crashed on me and I walked away from it, but I never really got sober," Clark remembered.
Despite walking away from drugs and alcohol, his demons would always return.
"I spent the last 10 years doing a bottle of whiskey a day. I was eating painkillers like they were tic-tacs," the experienced runner said matter-of-factly.
While struggling with addiction, a 29-year-old Clark had a wife, kids and owned a large company. He tried to hide his demons from his family, but his marriage began suffering as the darker side of him bled threw.
"She knew what was going on. She was probably afraid to confront me [and] thought I was an emotional bully," Clark said.
His wife eventually left him to overcome his problems. He began gaining weight and eventually reaching 320 pounds.
"I was just out of control. [The food and drugs] were not my problems. They were the symptoms," the marathon runner explained.
Clark began to understand where the seeds of his problems were.
Since he began drinking at an early age, Clark said, "I didn't know how to live life. I couldn't be still. If things were good I had to drink, use drugs or eat. If things were going bad I had to do that."
After experiencing an epiphany, Clark had another challenge to face as he began to rebuild his life.
"I realized that what I was doing was very much tied into to who I thought I was. I viewed myself as a tragic guy and when starting over I had to find the will to believe that maybe that was a lie and I was meant to be someone else," Clark said.
At that moment, everything began falling into place for Clark and he started running to get his life back on track.
His first didn't last very long, just 15 seconds.
"I would try not to vomit. My knees felt like they were going to shatter," Clark recalled.
Even so, in the difficult times of running Clark found beauty in the struggle.
"It needed to be hard because the emotional stakes were and had to be high. There couldn't have been a smaller change for me," Clark said.
Today, Clark is the person he always wanted and meant to be. He authored a new book titled Out There. It's an in depth look at his thought process of being addicted and his fears of recovery as well as conquering that fear of change.
But, the book, at first, was never meant to be released.
“I wasn't sure if I would really release it. I meant to write it for me. It's a really honest telling of what I was thinking about."
Clark also mentions that he didn't want to glamorize his ordeal.
“I talk about more of the humiliating and shameful things," Clark said.
Clark says the book is for everybody as it creates a blueprint for anyone who wants to make a change in their life.
"I'm going to put the worst and best of me out there and let it go. I don't need it anymore," Clark explained.
Clark now lives in Boulder, Colorado and owns his owns his own Snap Fitness and plans do more "crazy" events in the future.
When asked if he would ever do four marathons in one day again, Clark answered," I'm going to leave Boston alone. It is a beautiful experience at the finish line."
Copyright 2015 WBRC. All rights reserved.
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