Guor Marial, a Humble Hero

The story is familiar now ... graduate will be competing in the . He is fast enough, his time qualifies him and he is ready for the challenge.

But as has been spoken of and written about, this 26.2 mile race on Aug. 12, will be an easy one for Guor. While most athletes culminate their training with the challenge of winning, and look to their Olympic Athletic event as their hardest effort ... Guor will go to the line a champion already. He has run this kind of race his entire life.

I remember the day Rusty Cofrin came to me ... that gleam of excitement in his eye as he told me about Guor and we made our introductions. Coaches all dream of this ... that once in a lifetime athlete. Many coaches train athletes for years and years without ever landing that superstar ... many get the athletic ability in an athlete, or that undying spirit, or that humble dedication ... but it is rare to find it all wrapped up into one person. Guor literally appeared one day, with all of those qualities and became a track star.

He was always a pleasure to watch run ... actually he floated seamlessly along, those thin dark legs almost dancing by as his feet hardly touched the ground. Guor was a Division One Champion just six weeks into his running career. There were many ups and downs for Guor.

Like many refugees he toiled at school struggling to understand not only course content but English as well. Then there was practice, then the 30-plus hours a week he put into his grocery store job. He didn’t always have time to eat, and there was no one to prepare him meals. While his running ability and potential as a State and New England champion was paramount to Rusty as a coach, it was just a part of the fabric of Guor’s life. It is difficult to truly know what was going through his mind during those early years but in getting to know Guor and his story he must have wondered why we all got so excited when he won a race or ran a fast time.

He was quickly enveloped by the track team and the Concord community in general. His willingness to give it all up to earn more money for his family, or to go back to South Sudan made it clear that he had no comprehension of what this silly thing called track and field could do for him. I had many refugee students in my health classes and what always struck me about them is that not one of them ever had a toy as a child. Anything you had was useful, to own something simply for pleasure was a concept that they just could not understand.

When Guor approached Rusty about quitting, we all rallied around him to make sure he could feel good about himself here as a student athlete and to help him see that his future greatness could help his family exponentially when compared to his weekly paychecks at a grocery store. And it could help him as well.

The Cofrins, then the Fords, then the Samuels families took their turns and had the blessing of nurturing this amazing young man. His integrity level and humility were unparalleled when compared to his peers and even to others who had suffered the indignities and tortures that he had suffered. While he was able to relax, he always had an extra stash of power bars, or cereal, or Gatorade somewhere in his room. When you have gone for days without food or water, that refrigerator in the kitchen is not always proof that there will actually be food the next day. It was these small behaviors that humbled US as we worked to get him off to college. My role in Guor's life was small - I was just that crazy girls coach - but we were all his family and he took in every bit of support and information he was given.

Sitting in a restaurant with Rusty in Boston after we had taken the team to a meet, we talked about what may or may not become of Guor. His body had unhealed and improperly treated injures that at times crippled him with pain. His test scores and grades were a potential roadblock to an NCAA Scholarship. His English, while ever improving made even the most simple concepts difficult for Guor to grasp ... and then, what about the vultures ... they exist in every sport, those coaches and managers who look to exploit others for their own personal gain. Rusty took all of this very seriously and wanted only the best for Guor. His experience at Iowa State was, thankfully, an extension of his life here. He was a part of a family in college. His body treated, is injuries addressed, his training modified and tweaked. And he was educated, a homeless child on the run in the woods now a college graduate.

It is fitting that Guor’s journey to London has unfolded this way. His story takes on a very public and personal nature at the same time. He will be a household name not only because he can run fast, but because he overcame twenty lifetimes of suffering, heartbreak and loss to get there. As he toes the line on the 12th of August we should all step back, take a breath and be thankful for what we have, and look to Guor as that young child he never got to be, playing his favorite game on the world stage. And while he should allow himself to simply enjoy it, his willingness to not have it at all rather than represent Sudan will remind us that for Guor, it will always be about a bigger purpose…and that he never runs for himself, but always for others and what they might become.