Unsung heroes take center stage

During the elite runner heyday of the Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic 15-kilometer run, world-class runners certainly brought electricity to the event, but you have to wonder how many stories like those of Austin Richmond and Murray McDonough went unnoticed as a result.

Saturday, with little in the way of prize money on the line, their lives took center stage.

For Richmond, the men's winner, it was a story of a 24-year-old father who has been forced to live in so many places the past few years that in the eyes of the government, he is considered homeless.

For McDonough, the race was a celebration of a healthy, vibrant life that suddenly ended just nine days ago following a mountain biking accident in Polk County.

While Richmond has family in Clewiston and Bradenton, he has not had a permanent place to call home since he competed for Webber International University in Babson Park, where he earned a business degree. And even then, Richmond lived in a small trailer.

Since graduating from Webber, Richmond's dream of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials has seen him bounce between the homes of family and friends, including those in Colorado, where he spent time training at altitude. Between those stops, he and his wife, Krystyne, had a daughter, Alexa, who is now nearly 6 months old.

In these difficult economic times, Richmond says he has been unable to find steady work. So when he recently applied for government assistance to help support his family, he and his wife were listed as homeless.

"(The government agency) wanted to know about all these things we didn't have, like a home and permanent address, which we don't have," Richmond said. "Obviously, it hasn't been easy for us. But we're doing OK, and I know that if I can just stay focused in my training, I can run faster."

After second-place finishes here in 2007 and '08 and a fourth in '06, Saturday was another personal best for Richmond. He dropped 27-year-old Jim Wahl of Cary, N.C., just after 2 miles, and despite suffering a painful cramp in his diaphragm near the 6-mile mark, Richmond fell only slightly off a sub-5-minute mile pace to finish in 46 minutes, 49 seconds.

Wahl earned second in 48:27, and since Richmond listed his family's address in Clewiston as his hometown, St. Petersburg's Hank Campbell, 30, won the $2,000 for the first local finisher in third place overall at 49:51.

Upon learning of Richmond's situation, however, race director Susan Harmeling consulted former Gasparilla president Joey Resnick and current president Maureen Chiodini. Together, they agreed the right thing to do was award Richmond his own $2,000 check.

"We support the local running community, and that's why we have the prize money for them," Harmeling said. "But at the same time, you have someone with the athletic ability he has and if anyone deserves the help, it's him."

As the cloudy skies Richmond raced under finally gave way to light rain, Michael McDonough, 50, crossed the finish line. In a virtual sea of back-of-the-pace runners, Michael had never run a race longer than 5k before Saturday, and that was nearly 20 years ago. But in honor of his little brother, Murray McDonough, he took up the challenge of Saturday's 15k.

Michael not only wore the No. 74 race number Murray had been issued for Gasparilla, but Michael also wore his brother's running shoes, shorts, shirt - right down to his socks. He and several of Murray's friends and co-workers from the engineering firm URS also wore handmade red ribbons with "In Memory of Murray" written on it.

Michael and Murray's friends all say he was the fittest 47-year-old you could meet. Exercise was a way of life for him. Murray even volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program by delivering food to the needy on his bicycle.

But on a solo mountain bike ride on Valentine's Day, Murray was found unconscious at the bottom of a steep section of Loyce Harpe Park near Lakeland. Murray was wearing his helmet, but he had broken a vertebra in his neck and had nearly severed his spine. A nurse hiking in the park discovered Murray minutes afterward and performed CPR before he was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

The lack of oxygen to his brain between the accident and his arrival at the hospital resulted in minimal brain function. Five days later, Murray's family decided to take him off the respirator. His heart continued beating for several minutes before finally stopping.

Murray had left no end-of-life documents or instructions. But since he had taken such good care of his body, his family decided to donate his organs, and they say eight of them will be life-saving.

As he stood near the finish line with Murray's friends, Michael tried to think past the pain in his legs from the race. Today, he and other mountain bikers will gather at Loyce Harpe Park for a ride in honor of Murray.

"It feels like we've said everything there is to say and talked about it so much, but it still doesn't feel like it's possible he's not here," Michael McDonough said. "I know he pushed me out there today to finish."