Published by the DAILY
RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, July 26,
2015
In 2004 Doug Clark of Mendham
placed second in the Verizon Classic 5K. His best times that year were 16:07
for a 5K and 34:02 for a 10K. At the Verizon race in 2011 he placed third
overall. His name shows up in most of the Verizon races in the top runners list
and never slower than 17:40.
Running is only part of the
picture. In 2009 Clark won his age division of the Hawaii Ironman competition.
He has been the age division triathlon athlete of the year seven years
straight, including 2014. He is the ultimate Triathlon Bloke.
So why was Clark happy to
finish the Verizon race this year in 3,384th place with a walking
time of 48:50? Life can hand you a cruel deck of cards once in a while and
Clark was handed his on November 4th of last year.
The vibrant, fit athlete
suffered a grand mal seizure that was so severe it dislocated and broke his
shoulder. The seizure and multiple seizures that day was a sudden symptom that
something was dreadfully wrong in his brain. Clark was diagnosed with a
malignant brain tumor. His world and that of his wife Hillary and eight year
old daughter Ellie was thrown into a maelstrom of doctor visits, hospital
stays, surgeries, recuperations, setbacks, and triumphs.
Clark credits his physical
therapists and the Livestrong program at the Somerset YMCA with help with his
progress in physical recovery. However a side effect of the medications that he
is taking often leaves him severely fatigued.
While the Clarks have medical
insurance through Clark’s employer Alcatel Lucent, not all things are covered
and all of the ancillary expenses have been hard on the family.
Enter John Williams of Modern
Athlete, a running specialty store in
Florham Park who reasoned that the running community would like to help the
Clarks out a bit and he would organize a fund raising 5K.
“John has been remarkably
generous with his time,” said Doug Clark. He knows how time consuming putting
on a race can be. Hillary Clark was on the committee that puts on the Harvest
Hustle in Mendham in September and she was the race director for the Giralda
Farms races in November of last year.
Since Clark goes by the nick
name of Triathlon Bloke, Williams named the 5K race that will be run this
Saturday, August 1st, the Team Bloke 5K for Brain Cancer Awareness.
In addition to helping the
Clarks with their out-of-pocket expenses the race will donate to the Stomp the
Monster organization that assists families that are coping with cancer. The
Mendham Ambulance squad will receive a donation in appreciation for their
prompt response to Clark’s emergency when the seizures hit.
Friends who have kept up with
Clark’s setbacks and progress have been amazed at his up-beat attitude. Both
Hillary and Doug have posted to a medical sharing website and Doug’s posts will
leave them chuckling at his humor as he battles the disease.
“He is inspiring so many
people around us,” said Hillary Clark, “and he doesn’t think he is doing
anything inspirational like racing. “But the fact that he is getting up every
day and his attitude is incredible. He’s so positive. One of the things that is
motivating is he wants to be a survivor so that he can help other people.”
“I think that speaks a lot
about who he is,” she said. “He really is the most humble person I’ve ever met.
His positivity is inspiring – for all of us. Nobody wants to go through
something like this. It has been devastating for our daughter but what he is
teaching her through his example - you have to stay positive and live. She’s
learning a lot.”
Doug Clark, who is 46, says
that quite obviously his most specific goal is to survive the cancer. Then achieve
some of the success that he had in triathlons in the future. He’d like to be
the age division national champion once again.
“I don’t think that is
unrealistic and that is my goal,” he said. “So hopefully to inspire other
people who perhaps have the condition that I have now.”
Clark gets his own
inspiration from professional triathlon athletes who have come back from
cancer. “I want to be able to inspire people by doing the same.”
As Hillary Clark said, Doug
Clark is already inspiring others. The race on Saturday will bring those who
have been inspired by him to a race that is not just another 5K. This is a race
to help one of their own.
##
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and
biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net.
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