Page 81 - Kindness - No Forward

Bob Wieland is a runner, like many of us try to be. Bob Wieland is a slow
runner, also like many of us.

And, like many of us, Bob Wieland once decided to run in a marathon.

The difference between me and Bob Wieland was I quit. And Bob Wieland
set the record for the worst time in the New York Marathon in 1984. He
finished in four days.

I could have run 26.2 miles in four days. In four days! I could have done
that! And when I think about Bob Wieland, I wish I hadn’t quit.

Because ANYBODY can run a marathon in four days.

Did I tell you that Bob Wieland doesn’t have legs? They were blown off
during an explosion in Vietnam.

He doesn’t’ use a bicycle or a platform with wheels to run. He pulls himself
along with his arms, using padded gloves to protect his hands. He pulled
himself for four days and 26.2 miles.

Through the rain.

Through the dark.

People honked at him. Dogs barked at him.

The sponsors of the marathon heard about this man who was still in the
race after four days. And they came and cheered him on as he crossed the
finish line.

Someone asked him how it felt to finish last. “Last?” he said, “I finished
ahead of the 1,500 people who quit!”

The world saw the greatness in Bob Wieland that day.