On May 6, 2007 at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio one of those Mind over Matter stories unfolded.

Just one week prior to the Flying Pig Marathon four relatives were on a short fishing trip and two of the cousins were bantering with each other. Ryan Geers, a soon to be University of Cincinnati Emergency Medicine Resident, and Todd Geers his cousin, President of F James Geers & Company in Cincinnati were having a heated discussion about who was more physically fit.

Ryan told Todd that he, Ryan, would have no problem running a Marathon

without prior training. Todd found that to be an interesting statement and a little too braggadocious so he challenged Ryan to his words. Not to be outdone, Ryan assured Todd he could run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon the following Sunday to prove his point. The challenge was on.

Instead of backing down Ryan did what most foolish young men would do and

said OK I’ll prove it. He knew he could run 2 – 3 mile stints because he did that periodically and two years before he had run a 5K in Chicago so what was the big deal with 26.2 miles.

For the next several days Ryan called anyone he knew that knew anything

about Marathons and listened to their advice. All accept for “You are crazy to try that.”

On Sunday morning May 6, 2007 at 6:30 AM with the crack of the Starting Gun the Marathon commenced. For the next four hours and forty-two minutes (4:42) Ryan travelled through the neighborhoods of Cincinnati with all the demons of “you can’t do this” on his shoulder. By mile 15 his leg muscles started to burn and the reality of what he was trying to do was sinking in. For the next 5 miles the demons got louder assuring him this was a foolish act and he should call it quits. Ryan would have nothing to do with them.

By mile 21 the demons could barely be heard and were replaced by the Mind

over Matter Crowd. He knew he could do it. This was no longer a

braggadocious statement but a reality of a belief in himself that has been with him all his life.

At mile 25 there was a freshness of spirit and a final kick to the finish line. There were no words of encouragement needed from me or anyone else

at that point. He had already finished the Marathon in his mind. This part was just for show.

As a father I watched all of this unfold from the fishing trip to the finish line and I am amazed at the strength of his inner spirit. Chalk this one up to Mind over Matter. Ryan Geers has a Flying Pig Marathon Metal to prove it.

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