An Athlete's Challenge
WEB-EXCLUSIVE: Partially paralyzed athlete Beth Sanden is training for a 26.2-mile marathon on the Great Wall of China.
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| To learn more about Sanden or donate to Race for a Reason: raceforareason2011.kintera.org/bethsanden |
Beth Sanden is a bad ass. At least that’s what an early 20-something-year-old surfer at Salt Creek State Park in Dana Point said when he saw 56-year-old Sanden with a walker and prosthetic leg brace tackling the park's endless staircase.
“I was coming up to the last five steps and I could feel somebody breathing down my neck and I thought, ‘I’m going to beat ‘em,'” Sanden recalls. “As soon as I got to the top, I turned around and said, ‘I beat ya!’ and this young surf kid goes, ‘Woman, you a bad ass!’ And I am like, ‘Bad ass? What’s that? Am I alright?’ And he goes, ‘No, you rock,’” she laughs. “I’d never been called a bad ass before.”
But it’s a fairly accurate reading of the partially paralyzed athlete who since losing the use of her left leg in a bicycle accident continues to compete in triathlons and marathons. The first time Coast met Sanden, she was featured in our "Day in the Life" column. Since then Sanden has gone on to participate in the Boston Marathon, OC Marathon, New York City Marathon, and more. In May 2011, Sanden will tackle her latest challenge: a 26.2-mile marathon on the Great Wall of China.
“Whenever I’m doing marathons, I’m always blowing kisses,” says Sanden. “That ended up on a blog and the Chinese race director for the Great Wall of China saw that. And they invited me to come to China.
“It may take all day, it may take all night,” says Sanden, who will do the race with the help of her hand cycle, walker and leg brace. “I’m not sure how long, but I’m determined to do it.”
She’ll compete with the assistance of Race for a Reason, a nonprofit organization that raises money to help people with physical disabilities pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and athletics. Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday around noon, rain or shine, you can find Sanden on the stairs, training for China and garnering some intense reactions.
“There was one gal who came up and she goes, 'Does your doctor know you’re doing this?’ I could write a book on these stories.”
She got so many questions that her friend, Ross, printed out a few fliers with her Race for a Reason link on them explaining her story. She carries the fliers in a pouch he cable-tied to her walker, so she doesn’t have to stop training to calm down concerned beach-goers.
“Their eyes bug out and their mouths drop open,” she says.
It’s interesting that in a country where the term handicapable was coined, Sanden’s training receives such attention. It will be even more interesting to see the reactions she gets in China.
“It’s like, if I can show our people here, what is it going to be like when I go over there? All those able-bodied people going, ‘Wow, somebody that is disabled can do this?’ It will open up a whole new world,” says Sanden. “Hopefully I’ll be a liaison for challenged athletes. I’ve got one leg, I figure I might as well use it.”
