Appalachian State defense line coach and recruiting coordinator Mark Speir has decided to run the Boston Marathon April 20 in the name of the Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh.

His inspiration for running marathons spun from former ASU quarterback coach Scott Satterfield when decided to watch his cholesterol for health reasons. Speir decided that he too needed to switch his diet. After seeing the success of a healthy lifestyle, Speir perused his dream of running a marathon before his 40th birthday in 2008.

“I always wanted to run a marathon before I was 40,” he said. “It’s amazing how one event led to another.”

Speir ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tenn. two days prior to his 40th birthday. Determined to run the marathon in under four hours, Speir turned his daily three-mile runs into seven miles and then 10.
“I didn’t do a regiment for my first marathon,” he said. “I didn’t even know you had a speed day.”

Crossing the finish line in at four hours, one minute, Speir was unsatisfied with his time. He immediately signed up for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, which he ran in 3:54, four weeks after the race in Nashville.

He raised $17,000 from the Nashville race in support of World Medical Mission founders of the Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh. Speir personally knew Dr. Richard Furman and his late brother Lowell Furman, founders of World Medical Mission as an offshoot of Samaritan’s Purse.

This year, Speir hopes to raise $1,000 for every mile he runs totaling to $26,200 to fund a new surgical and critical care unit in memory of his friend Dr. Lowell Furman.

“I just want everyone to know that 100 percent of what is raised is going to that hospital,” he said. “It was a special place in Lowell’s heart, and I want to raise money in Lowell’s memory. “

After the race, Speir will be traveling to Bangladesh in May to stay with Dr. Stephen Kelly, the doctor at Memorial Christian Hospital, and his family to tour the hospital.

Speir is shooting to finish the Boston Marathon in 3:45, which means he had to intensify his training.

His training regiment includes a strict running schedule with a speed day. On Mondays, he likes to walk from ASU’s field house up to Howard’s Knob and then jog down through downtown Boone. His longest run yet has been 24 miles during his training. Speir has been practicing on pavement and said he has had no bodily injuries since he began training.

Considered to be one of most strenuous marathons, the Boston Marathon is famous for Heartbreak Hill positioned between mile 20 and 21 where most runners “hit the wall” which is a term used to describe a sudden loss of energy.

“Any hill is a big hill when your 21 miles into a run,” he said.

Speir has found his wall, which also happens to hit around mile 20, but he said he is determined to fight the pain up Heartbreak hill and push himself to the finish line.

Speir trains without music. He considers running as a time to think about his life.

“Most people got their walk with the Lord,” he said. “Well, I’ve got my jog with the Lord.”

The only aid Speir uses is peppermints, which he places in his gum usually during mile 12.

“It revises me as I run,” he said.

Speir’s main sponsors include Wendy’s, Nike, Hendricks Motor Sports and Greenway Baptist Church, but he wanted to include the community in his quest to complete the gruesome 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon.

“I am excited to see support from Samaritan’s Purse and the community,” he said. It’s been an awesome, awesome deal.”

For more information about donating, please visit www.firstgiving.com/bang