At 73 years old and with more than 200 marathons to his credit, Sid Busch, of Columbia, South Carolina, knows a lot about running and a lot about pain. More, in fact, than he lets on.
He’s got lots of achy joints and ligaments and trips to the surgeon鈥檚 table. Busch knows there isn鈥檛 a whole lot of running left in his tank. But while pain may keep him from running much longer, it鈥檚 also what鈥檚 kept him running so long.
For 26 years, Busch served on submarines before retiring as a chief petty officer in the Navy. On 9/11, he lost a close cousin in the collapse of the twin towers and said it was then that he was ready to sign up with the military again.
It turned out that the Navy wasn鈥檛 exactly clamoring for 55-year-old reenlistees. But as wars raged on in the Middle East, and as the casualties suffered in them started generating fewer headlines, Busch began to lament the dead who were gone and forgotten.
鈥淚 do all my races now in honor of young men and women who didn鈥檛 make it back from the Mideast and the war against terrorism,鈥� Busch said last month outside a motel in Waldorf, Maryland, where he stayed after running a 10K.
He runs 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and marathons, always with the picture of a fallen member of the military on his back. At the end of the run, he gives his finisher’s medal to their family.
The first few times, Busch would go online to look up the families of those who died and ask their permission to run with someone鈥檚 name and picture. But when his efforts became publicly known, the dynamic turned around.
鈥淣ow I get emails from families asking me if I鈥檒l do them the honor of running for their son and daughter,鈥� he said, choking up a bit as he spoke.
鈥淎nd you can鈥檛 say no.鈥�
Over the years, the emails piled up in Busch’s inbox faster than he could run races. And his age didn鈥檛 stop ticking up either. Now he carries the names and faces of two fallen soldiers on his back every time he runs a race.
And while he鈥檒l still do some shorter races, this weekend’s Marine Corps Marathon will be the last marathon he runs. As a veteran, he said, it鈥檚 just more special for him.
Last year, an injury kept him from running, but he still volunteered on the course and positioned himself along the Blue Mile. When he runs a race, the Blue Mile always slows him down because he stops to salute and honor each photograph.
鈥淚 have running shoes twice as old as these kids,鈥� said Busch.
Running for a Md. Marine
One fallen soldier on Busch鈥檚 back this weekend will be Staff Sgt. James Malachowski, who grew up outside of Westminster, Maryland. He was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) while deployed in Afghanistan, where he was deployed after three tours in Iraq. Busch said the story surrounding his death led him to reach out to Malachowski鈥檚 parents to run his last marathon in his honor.
He was married with two kids, but the night before Malachowski was deployed, he had an emotional and chilling conversation with his mother, Alison, who also served in the Marines.
鈥淗e put his big hands on my shoulder 鈥� and said, 鈥楳om, I need you Marine to Marine,鈥欌�� said Alison Malachowski. 鈥淪o he didn鈥檛 want to talk to his mother; he wanted to talk to another Marine.鈥�
That might have been so, but Alison couldn’t help but listen as a mother as well.
鈥淗e said, 鈥楳om, I鈥檓 not coming back this time. I just don鈥檛 want people to forget I ever lived,鈥� said Alison. 鈥淚 started to cry. To have your child look in your eyes and tell you that [he’s] going to die 鈥� it was and still is an endless nightmare that we live 24/7. It doesn鈥檛 go away.鈥�
鈥淎t 25 you shouldn鈥檛 be thinking thoughts like that,鈥� said Busch. But Jimmy, as Alison called him, was right.
鈥淗e was killed by an IED,” Busch said. “He was literally blown in half and his last words were, 鈥楢re my men OK?鈥� The word ‘hero’ is thrown around a lot. That鈥檚 a hero.鈥�
In Alison鈥檚 mind, Busch is a “national treasure.” When he runs the marathon this weekend, he鈥檒l be carrying out her son鈥檚 dying wish, she said.
鈥淧eople seeing Jimmy鈥檚 face and knowing who he is 鈥� not just a name, he鈥檚 a person 鈥� means more than I can even express,鈥� said Alison 鈥淲hen you say Jimmy鈥檚 name and you see his face you are actually, everybody is, actually honoring his only request before he was killed 鈥� to not be forgotten.鈥�
Busch’s secret
It turns out, Busch knows more about the pain these families go through than he lets on.
鈥淗is wife Alicia and his 1-year-old baby boy Seth were killed by a drunk driver many years ago,鈥� said Alison. 鈥淗e was aboard a submarine and he couldn鈥檛 come right home either. So he knows what it鈥檚 like to have to go through the horror of all this.鈥�
Because he was out to sea, Busch wasn鈥檛 able to get back in time for the funerals.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a weight that he carries with him,鈥� said Alison. 鈥淭o be able to do all this for so many people 鈥� and those of you who run races know it can really beat your body up. He鈥檚 not a young man anymore and he still continues to do this. [It鈥檚] nothing short of amazing and should be honored and recognized.鈥�
Busch and the Malachowskis plan to get together for the first time this weekend. After the race, Busch said, he intends to put the medal he鈥檒l get for running along Jimmy鈥檚 headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.
鈥淚 already told the Marine Corps Marathon that my goal is to finish,鈥� said Busch. 鈥淚鈥檒l go as far as I can until they pull me from the course.鈥�
While running this race one last time might mean a lot to Busch, it clearly means even more to Alison Malachowski.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty remarkable,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 definitely a national treasure and a hero to me and all of us for doing this.鈥�
