Bill Bryant Times Sports Staff
This time of year saddens Rachel Kruse because her husband Darin passed away two falls ago after a three-year battle with ALS. But she's grateful for the fact that the proceeds from the Heel and Crank Duathlon have always gone to the local chapter of the ALS Association, first to benefit him and later to honor him.
"I'm very honored for Darin and how much he was respected," Kruse said this week from her Huntsville home, which she shares with daughters Monica, a freshman at Vanderbilt, and Michelle, a junior at Grissom High School.
"He's got lots of folks that thought enough about him to host this event. He passed away about the time of the (duathlon). It's still hard for me, because it brings back memories."
Like the ones of Darin training for his many triathlons. "They were more challenging and more interesting to him," Kruse said.
He never got to compete in the Heel and Crank Duathlon, the fifth version of which begins Saturday at 8 a.m. and features a 21/2-mile run, 10-mile bike ride and another 21/2 -mile run. He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a fatal illness commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease - the year before the initial event in 2005.
Race director Rick Greif had started putting together the beginner-friendly duathlon before he learned of Darin's illness. Once he found out, the event had its cause.
"I didn't know Darin that well (because) he was getting up to longer distances than me at that time," Greif said. "He was one of those guys we all aspired to be, doing the 'Iron Man' races.
"When you watched Darin, you realized you were watching a really talented athlete."
Which, of course, made the diagnosis that much tougher to understand.
"It was harder for the doctors to diagnose because he was starting from such a strong point," Kruse said. "Weak to him was different than weak to somebody else who wasn't in as good a shape. His lung capacity, the first time they tested it six-to-nine months into the symptoms, had 138 percent of expected lung capacity."
The first hint to Darin that something was wrong came from involuntary muscle twitching in his arms, chest and back. Then his hands became weak, so much that Kruse said "it was hard for him to open a soda bottle."
It took a few more months of symptoms before Darin realized he wasn't getting better. Then came the diagnosis, followed by three years of emotional and physical pain.
"It is exhausting - financially, physically, mentally. All of it," Kruse said. "I think Darin maybe had it worse because he was in such good shape.
"He progressed through more of the debilitation than most people who get it. He went through everything - feeding tube, couldn't talk, couldn't move anything. Pretty much every capability gone."
Although Darin passed in September 2007, the Kruse family has continued the fight the disease. Kruse, like the engineer she is, wants answers.
She's taking a twice-weekly biostatistics class at UAB, and she'd like to use that experience to collect data on ALS. Last October, then-President Bush signed the ALS Registry Act that established the first national registry of people who have the disease.
Monica is studying biomedical engineering at Vandy and Michelle wants to go into nursing. Their personal experiences with ALS played a large role in pointing them in the directions they're going.
"(ALS) takes everything," Kruse said. "You can't walk, talk, eat ... or any of that. You need wheelchairs, lifts, vans, equipment. I don't want to belittle any other disease, but I can't think of one that's worse. Especially for the patient - because your mind is fine."
Kruse and her daughters are plan on competing in Saturday's Dual and Crank. Rachel will leave her biking portion to a neighbor. She thinks Michelle, who is in the midst of a fine season running cross country at Grissom, could be one of the top females.
Greif said the numbers look good for the race.
"We've got about 150 (entrants) at this point," he said. "Usually, 120-125 is pretty good. Obviously, we're willing to take a few more."
