Brain-injured teen gets chance to 'go fast' in marathon

Karl Madsen wants to go fast.

So does Chris Riley.

Karl just turned 14, and has spent the last 11 years using a wheelchair after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car accident that took the life of his father, Bill Coning. Riley is a marathoner who met Karl while working at the Outlaw Ranch, a summer camp in the Black Hills.

Together, they ran the Sioux Falls half marathon last year, and now they’re planning on stepping it up and completing the marathon this fall. It’s a big challenge for Riley, and a thrill for Karl, whose disability has in no way sapped his ability to live a fruitful, happy life. Or his desire to go fast.

They came in last year at a time of two hours, seven minutes, a pace of 9 minutes, 45 seconds per mile. For Riley, though, that wasn’t the point. Feeding Karl’s need for speed was the goal, and he hit it out of the park.

“Karl would have every reason to be a cranky, dour, irritable kid, but he’s not,” says Karl’s mother, Anna Madsen. “He’s got a great sense of humor, a great smile and he loves mischief. He has really mastered the art of joyful defiance, and those are things that describe Chris, too. (Riley) is a hero in our little world.”

Riley, who lives in Spearfish, was drawn to Karl and his family quickly when they began coming to the ranch. Despite limited motor skills, he’s mentally sound and highly active – enjoying horseback riding and playing catch.

“He’d play catch with you all day if you’d let him,” Riley, 29, says.

And as a runner of five marathons, an idea began to hatch with Riley. He’d read the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt, a father-son duo that runs marathons together, with father Dick pushing son Rick. Riley wondered if Karl would want to do something similar. He ran it by Karl’s mother, and she jumped at the chance without even asking her son.

Riley didn’t inform organizers of his plan, figuring it would be easier to ask forgiveness later than permission first. They didn’t have any kind of special chair – they just used a regular wheelchair. Riley’s main concern was making sure Karl would stay comfortable and into the race, and they stayed toward the back of the pack as the race began. The other runners soon caught on to what was happening, and the duo had plenty of runners and spectators urging them on.

As for Karl, he just wanted to go fast.

“His mom told me he had a hand signal to go faster, where he’d hold his arm up,” Riley said. “He pretty much had his arm up the whole time.”

While Karl was soaring with the wind in his face and the thrill of racing alongside competitive runners, Riley was huffing and puffing, trying to push a 13-year-old boy in a wheelchair while running for two straight hours.

“It was a heck of a workout,” he admits. “It was a great core workout. I couldn’t believe how sore I was getting. But the energy I was getting from Karl and the runners around us was just so awesome. So many people were stopping to give him a high-five. That really made it easier to push through.”

They crossed the finish line to cheers and applause, and Karl’s family was there to greet him. Riley draped his finisher’s medal around Karl’s neck and gave him the bib number he wore on his chest. While Karl was all smiles, soaking in his first race, Riley was already thinking about taking it to the next level. He wondered if they could run a full marathon together.

He reached out to Anna recently, and though both Riley and Karl’s mother acknowledge doubling the race time will present some additional challenges, they’re going for it.

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This time, however, they’re going at it with a bit more planning. They’ve already notified race officials of their intent. And Riley will use a special chair designed for pushing a passenger in a race. The 605 Running Company in Sioux Falls recently acquired one, and Karl has already used it once.

The $5,000 aerodynamic chair has three wheels, special handles for pushing and is available for anyone to use, free of charge. Grant Watley, owner of 605, said members of the club took it upon themselves to fund-raise the money to buy the chair.

“We wanted to get this chair so people who are disabled or not able to participate have the opportunity to get out there and be able to experience running and being in a race and all that,” said Watley, who is the head cross country coach at USF. “We’re looking for people that would like to hop in there and go for a run or do a road race.”

That goal is similar to the one Riley has for taking Karl the full 26.2 miles. They want to motivate not just those with similar challenges, but traditional runners as well.

“Hopefully we can be an inspiration to people that are struggling in the race,” Riley said. “I’ve run five marathons and I’ve had some pretty good ones and some bad ones. Even in the good ones there are ups and downs. You have a lot of mental challenges within the race. Hopefully when people see me and Karl they can find something inside them to keep going.”