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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1997)
In Pursuit of a Dream His run from Eugene to Seattle helped raise money for World Wheelchair Sports, hut Daisuke Shizuya said the road wasn’t always easy By Katherine Holden Freelance Reporter The rain and the wind are determined to stop you from continuing. You try to ignore the persistent chill and keep moving. Your body responds to every step you take on the hard pavement. You’ve been running now for ten miles and you still have about twenty to go. And then tomorrow you have to do it all over again. For all but the seasoned ath lete, such a feat would be impos sible to accomplish, but Daisuke Shizuya (pronounced die-skay shi-zoo-yah) is one such athlete. Shizuya ran an average of 30 miles a day over the course of spring break to raise money for World Wheelchair Sports, a non profit organization that provides outdoor fitness and sport oppor tunities for the mobility im paired. “I ran to encourage others to pursue their own dreams,” said Shizuya, who was bom with one leg longer than the other. The following is the story of Shizuya's 330-mile run from the University campus in Eugene to the University of Washington in Seattle. DAY 1 UO to Peoria and Charch Dr. function Friends came to cheer him on as he left campus. “It was a beau tiful, sunny day. It lifted my spir its.” Shizuya was accompanied by a van that carried three people who served as his crew for the trip, filling roles that included driver, navigator and masseuse. “The van drove ahead of me for five miles and th&n pulled over to the side of the road and wait ed for me to catch up,” he said. Every hour Shizuya took a five- to ten-minute break so his masseuse, Keiji Sato, could mas sage his legs. “I had my legs mas saged on a regular basis to help prevent injuries, such as stress fractures and muscle pulls,” he said. Shizuya finished running at 6 p.m., having run at a steady 6 to 7 mph pace. “The hours seemed to fly by, and I thought to myself that this was going to be pretty easy.” DAY 2 Peoria to 22 and 51 Junction Shizuya headed out at dawn, not knowing terrain would make this day one of his toughest to run for the entire trip. "It was one of my hardest days because there were so many hills, and the weather was sunny, and I was very warm all day. I would get to the top of a hill and think that it was the last one, only to see from the top that there were many more to go,” he said. Despite his fatigue, Shizuya was able to con tinue, drawing encourage ment from an unexpected source. “The drivers on the road would honk and wave, or give me the thumbs up sign as they passed by. That support helped keep me going.” Shizuya finished running for the evening at 6:30 p.m., grateful that he was finally able to rest. DAY 3 22 and 51 function to Wilsonville Rd. near Willamette River Hills greeted Shizuya once again as he set out for the day, but some how they seemed to pose less of a chal lenge than they had the day before. "Maybe it was easier because I ran most of the hills in the early morning ana tne temperature was lower,” he explained. On this day Sid Sonnen, a member of World Wheelchair Sports, traveled with Shizuya in his wheelchair for eight miles of the trip. “He gave me a lot of con fidence and encouragement when we were running together simply because he was beside me,” Shizuya said. DAY 4 Wilsonville Road to Linton Shizuya ran 20 miles and then stopped for three hours to attend a wheelchair clinic at Dunaway Park near Portland State Univer sity. “The wheelchair clinic was basically a time for people to come out and find out about the latest wheelchair equipment that’s available. It was also a chance to create more awareness concerning the mobility im paired,” he said. Local TV stations came to the park to see Shizuya and help spread the word about his dream run. After the clinic Shizuya ran about another 10 miles and then settled in for the night to rest. DAY 5 Linton to Goble, Ore. This day would pose the great est challenge that Shizuya had to face during his trip because of a painful injury. “I hurt my foot. Keiji thought it might be a stress fracture,” he said. Shizuya’s masseuse taped his foot so he could continue running, but oth er problems were beginning to surface. "Because my foot hurt so bad, I ended up also straining a thigh muscle,” Shizuya said. “I was working that muscle extra hard to try and take some of the strain off my foot. Despite the pain, I knew I had to keep going. I told myself that if I stopped running, it would also stop kids in wheel chairs and the disabled from pur suing their own dreams. I re membered that when you face a wall, there’s always a way over. With extra concentration I was fi nally able to overcome some of the pain in the last hour of my run and finish.” DAY 6 Goble, Ore. to Vader, Wash. Here in the Northwest, spring break and rain seem to go hand in hand. Shizuya wasn’t spared by Mother Nature as it rained for three days straight. On his sixth day he crossed the Columbia River and entered Washington. “The bridge I had to cross was a little scary — there wasn’t much room for me to run and huge trucks were passing along side me. It was ex tremely windy and when I looked over, I couldn’t believe what a long way down to the water it was. I focused ahead and kept go ing,” Shizuya said. Once in Washing ton, Shizuya fin ished up for the day in Vader. “It was a very small town, but the people were all so friendly. A few came and met us at the van and gave donations. Others gave dona tions to us at a restaurant where the crew ate dinner. I was impressed with their generosi ty.” Shizuya was thankful because he was ahead of sched ule and therefore would have an easi er run the next day — his thigh muscle was still hurting. DAYS 7 AND 8 Vader to Hoy, Wash. On day seven Shizuya continued to run through rural Washington. He real ized that he wasn’t getting the support from the dri vers on the road that he had re ceived in Oregon. “People in Washington weren’t aware of my purpose and just drove past me. I really missed that support.” Shizuya instead drew encourage ment from the scenery that sur rounded him on every side. “I was running on beautiful coun try roads all day long. That real ly inspired me to keep moving,” he said. The eighth day brought Shizuya closer to Tacoma. “I re member that as I ran on this day, the temperature was much cool er than it had been. The rain had started to increase as well.” As Shizuya approached the city, road traffic increased. The traffic, coupled with the weather and impending twilight, led Shizuya to quit running for the day. “Keiji and I decided that since I was ahead of schedule, it would be fine to finish early.” DAY 9 Roy to Federal Way An energy-packed bowl of rice was the way Shizuya geared up for the day. “Most of the time I would have rice bowls and ba nanas for breakfast and lunch, and then whatever I wanted for dinner — even Taco Bell.” Sliizuya was on his way to Taco ma. He was surprised when Uni versity students passed him on the road. “Japanese students from school passed by and honked and waved. It was great to see some familiar faces,” he said. After reaching Tacoma, Shizuya and his crew drove back to Federal Way and crashed for the night. “I couldn’t believe I was nearing the end. It had gone so fast.” DAY 10 Tacoma to Seattle Shizuya was nearing the end of his trip ahead of schedule. This made his last days easier because he had less distance to cover. “We couldn’t figure out how I had gotten so far ahead of schedule. I think I probably ran more than I had to for the first three or four days of my trip.” Shizuya’s trip from Tacoma to Seattle was complicated by the fact that he was now running in the city. Traffic and stoplights posed new challenges for him. “The stoplights were especial ly frustrating,” Shizuya said. “Waiting for them really broke up my running and affected my pace.” It was on this night that Shizuya took some time out of his schedule to visit the Space Needle with his crew. “Being on top of the Space Needle at night reminded me of when I climbed the Tokyo tower,” he said. DAY 11 Seattle to University of Washington Now that the end was in sight, Shizuya didn’t feel like he was ready for his dream run to come to an end. “When I thought about it, I felt like I could run back to the U of O. I wasn’t ready to be finished. My body felt like it was getting used to running every day,” he said. Today Shizuya only had to run six miles, finishing his jour ney in Red Square at the Univer sity of Washington. “It was too windy for media coverage, but members of the Pursuit of a Dream committee were there, along with others from the U of O, to greet me at the end.” Nick Macllveen, chairman of the committee and member of the team that traveled with Shizuya, remembers the moment he finished in Red Square. “I could read the happiness and fulfillment on [Shizuya’s] face," he said. We looked at each other and I knew that we both were feeling so joyful.” “You made it,” Macllveen said when Shizuya finished. “Piece of cake,” Shizuya re sponded. “Piece of cake.” Applying Psychology to Real World Problems Department of Psychology, Summer Session, 1997 I°‘n us for an exciting summer of Psychology! Our summer classes are small and are geared towards investigating real life issues. Course offerings include: Sleep and Dreams • Domestic Assault of Women • Psychotherapies: Healing, Culture and Ethics • Origins and Prevention of Aggression And many others. Individualized courses are available by arrangement with the instructor ^ for both undergraduate and graduate students. Several courses also fulfill JHI social science, science and multicultural renuirementc Register Now for Oregon Summer and Psychology ■ For a complete course listing and more information, please visit our web page: http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/psych_summer/ ODE Online: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ode “33 years of Quality Service” Mercedes • BMW Volkswagen • Audi "" GERMAN - AUTO INC. 9 342-2912 2025 Franklin Blvd. Eugene, Oregon, 97402
