Ok, letsrun folks don't read RW, but I suggest you read this article about Debbie Heald and what became of her life since she set the US record at the mile as a 16 year old. Very interesting and sad what became of her life. Wish her healthy and happiness for her future.
What is very interesting and sad that became of her life?
She was possibly the greatest US female distance prodigy.
When she was a kid her father committed suicide on her birthday.
Many injuries that ruined her career.
Possible abuse by adult.
Mental illness (hearing voices)
It's just sad. I think she is very brave to come forward and have RW write the article.
I agree. Running magazines are filled with uninteresting fluff pieces. This article is different, and well worth reading.
It is sad. Great runner and a tragic life.
Surprising that no one has linked "the" race:
Wow! Thanks for that. Terrific race on a 160-yard board track. Knowing some of what she's been through in her life, it's kind of sad to see the interview afterwards.
Haven't watched that one for a while. Loved the sound of the boards along the way.
Article is well-worth reading.
The article is now up online.
It's a pretty remarkable article on a pretty remarkable story:
http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/debbie-heald-set-important-record
I'm going to feature it and her story all over the site tmw.
great read, wish there were more pics.....
Congrats to letsdope for finding out about this a month and a half after the magazine came out.
Does anybody else see the striking parallel to Gerry Lindgren?
Did adidas ever pony up a pair of shoes for the girl? If not, give the lady a pair now for christ sake.
Debbie's RW story will make you laugh and cry and cry and laugh. And the stirring race video - wow - two kicks; beyond incredible.
Bring Back the Mile wrote:
Debbie's RW story will make you laugh and cry and cry and laugh. And the stirring race video - wow - two kicks; beyond incredible.
That race was great for two reasons. You usually don't see that many passes among the front runners during a race and the race was more exciting because of there only being 4 runners. A lot of races now are clogged up with 15 runners when everybody knows only 1 or 2 have a chance to win and it is usually just set up to try and break a record.
Amazing article, incredible race. Thank you very much!
thanks for providing story, amazing run for a 16 yr old, states she beat Mary Decker to qualify to run that race (USSR vs USA)
Amazing! Sad to read the struggles though! Makes me thankful I can run but also realize it is not life! It is disturbing horrible people can ruin precious, young, talented lives! Protect your children! Roy sounds like an incredible human though and happy she had him!
Hi Folks: I posted in the thread about Debbie Heald NOT having a wikipedia article. But the thread apparently got deleted for some odd reason, so am posting here. I agree with some of you that Debbie Heald is noteworthy-enough per wikipedia criteria. And now that her 41 year old record has finally been broken, it might be nice to get up a simple wikipedia page for her. I went ahead and started one. Since I have only done a few wiki pages over the years, I am not that sharp at it. I would appreciate it if you can share this link with any wikipedia editors who may be interested in picking it up from here and completing the page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/Debbie_Heald
Cheers.
Cahttp://www.letsrun.com/forum/TOS.phpin broke the record on January 26, 2013. Not 2012.