Former Berkshire cross country runner Claire Markwardt broke her leg and crawled across the finish line at the 2007 state meet. The video isn't gruesome, but it is tough to watch. One version has been viewed more than 223,000 times on youtube.com. Another is set to the theme from "Chariots of Fire" and it strings together highlights of famous...
Former Berkshire cross country runner Claire Markwardt broke her leg and crawled across the finish line at the 2007 state meet.
The video isn't gruesome, but it is tough to watch. One version has been viewed more than 223,000 times on youtube.com. Another is set to the theme from "Chariots of Fire" and it strings together highlights of famous runners -- from Roger Bannister to Steve Prefontaine to Lasse Viren -- and Markwardt.
Markwardt's inspiring 50 seconds of fame happened three years ago this week at the 2007 state cross country meet. A senior at Berkshire at the time, she was about 45 feet from the finish when a bone in her leg snapped and she collapsed. Thinking it was a muscle cramp, Markwardt rose and took another step. A second bone broke and she fell again.
Then something amazing happened.
Markwardt, her gaze fixed on the finish line, quickly crawled on her hands and knees despite her left tibia and fibula bones below the knee both were badly broken. About 13 runners passed her and she finished 67th.
When she crossed the finish, an official picked her up in his arms and carried her to a trainer's table, her shattered leg dangling.
The finish line video later was posted on youtube and she became an immediate sensation. She was contacted by media outlets across the country. She continues to do occasional interviews and receives requests to speak to teams.
"I've watched the video, not over and over, but I've seen it," Markwardt said. "Honestly, I'm amazed I crawled so fast. It seemed like it took longer. Watching it seems shorter.
"I'm always surprised by how much attention it got and I feel like a lot of people would have done the same thing. When you've worked that hard to get there, you're not going to stop. Everyone thinks it hurt and it didn't."
Markwardt had surgery to insert a rod in her leg between her knee and ankle. Today, she is a junior architecture student at Kent State and plans to study in Italy next year. She runs a few miles a week, pain free. She said when she thinks of the state meet, she remembers the weekend with teammates as much as the finish.
"Both were important parts of my life," she said. "The whole state experience was fun. I always look at it as a positive in my life. The feedback and the opportunities I got out of it don't make me regret it.
"The fact I can still run is a good thing. It healed up normally. I think people thought it would be much worse that it ended up being."
-- Tim Warsinskey