When Devon Bieling’s legs gave way under her just 11 metres from the finish line at the Tunnel Vision Marathon in North Bend, Wash. last month, she wasn’t ready to give up.
“I fell at around mile 18 or 20 and hit the ground good. I was hurting, but it made me angry so I started booking it,” said Bieling. “I remember getting to the cones near the finish and suddenly I went left and my legs went out from under me.”
The 30-year-old runner and nurse from Georgia tried to crawl to the end, but the gravel path was cutting up her hands and knees. Determined not to get any assistance and get disqualified, she decided to roll, an idea she got from watching Ironman Kona finishers roll to the end to celebrate the finish.
“It was the only thing I could do,” she said.
Bieling completed the race in 3:34:02, just under the Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3:35:00. She finished 131st overall and 36th among women.
Tunnel Vision was Bieling’s second attempt at qualifying for Boston this year.
“The Boston Marathon has been on my mind as the ‘unicorn’ race after doing my first marathon and watching it on TV,” said Bieling. “When the bombing occurred, I had friends there in the race and it was horrible. Everyone I know as OK but it made the race mean so much more to me.”
Bieling began running in 2009 and got hooked on the sport when she finished her first half-marathon the following year. Since then, she’s completed more than 20 half-marathons, eight marathons, three ultramarathons, one Ironman and half a dozen half-Ironmans.
At first, Bieling said she felt self-conscious and embarrassed about having to roll to the finish line.
“After reading some of the comments I realized it wasn’t about me or if I was embarrassed. I was glad what happened to me could be used to help other people and I was OK with that.”
Bieling’s husband Dustin posted an image of his wife crawling to the finish on Imgur, captioning the image: My Super Hero Wife.
Bieling knows that there is a chance she still may not be able to compete in the Boston Marathon. Last year, due to high demand for the race, 30-year-old women needed to run a qualifying race in a time of 3:32:51 or better to win a coveted spot. But she is happy her story has resonated with others who may be struggling to reach their running goals.
“I hope people know that they can do anything or that they choose not to give up when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Beiling.
“But the next time I roll though, it will be planned!”
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