Written by Caroline Damron
There’s a new face in the Mabee Business Building: Rich Brown, a Harding graduate, formerly a professor at Freed-Hardeman, moved to Searcy this year with his family to teach at Harding. He is an associate professor of marketing dedicated to his students. But there is something else he enjoys — running.
“I’ve always run,” Brown said. “Since I was a kid.”
Brown said running is something he likes not only because of the health benefits but also because of the dedication and endurance it produces in the runner. He said kids who run are normally very dedicated, because competitive runners have to make a commitment to themselves by working hard.
In February, Brown ran the Sylamore Trail, a 50K (31-mile) trail near Mountain View, Ark. He said he would not encourage anyone to jump right into a run like this, especially if the person is still growing.
“It takes a while to prepare,” Brown said. “[Running] is hard on your body … after [the 50K] I couldn’t move for four to five days.”
Brown said he does not run for only himself; he has raised money through racing to support St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Brown said he learned the significance of a place like St. Jude’s when he was on an airplane traveling home. He sat next to a young woman in her early 20’s with a small child about five or six years old. This woman was taking her child to St. Jude’s for cancer treatment. She told Brown how St. Jude’s had paid for their travel, a place to live, a car and the treatment.
“I gave her all of the money in my pocket and thought, ‘what a great cause,'” Brown said.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, Tenn. and is dedicated to pediatric healthcare and research. St. Jude’s is committed to accepting all patients for treatment without regard to the family’s ability to pay.
Brown is passionate and dedicated to rallying others to the cause of St. Jude’s. He said he wants to get Harding students involved through running and possibly starting a running club. He knows it will take time to build interest and involvement, but he also knows it will happen.
“Maybe not [immediately], but in the next three or four years [it will happen],” Brown said.
One way he is currently raising money for St. Jude’s is through a challenge to his students and others to raise $1,000 dollars by October.
“If they raise the money then I’ll run a [mountain] 100K in 24 hours,” Brown said.
He said even if he doesn’t finish it he will try his hardest.
Brown’s passion for running extends to others like St. Jude’s, but it has also saved his own life. Before he and his family moved to Searcy he went in for a routine heart test, and to his surprise the doctor discovered a severe arterial condition — arthrosclerosis.
Arthrosclerosis is the cause of more than 50 percent of heart attacks; the arteries of those with arthrosclerosis become weak and inflamed. Brown said if he had not been running and keeping his heart strong, this condition would have resulted in a heart attack.
“My heart is strong, cholesterol great,” Brown said. “I just have arteries like an 80 year old.”
Brown said by eating differently and taking supplements, he is making sure he stays healthy.
“I have two daughters, and I want to see them have kids,” he said.
Brown’s dedication to running keeps him going and encourages others to do the same. And at age 48, he is not stopping yet; his next run is in April: the Ouachita run at Pinnacle Mountain and Lake Maumelle Park in West Little Rock.
Runners who want to support a great cause or just want to join a group of dedicated people can contact Rich Brown on Facebook or atrbrown1@harding.edu. He said he would love to talk with anyone interested.
