Debbie Ryan

Although I did not know Debbie, I can tell alot from these and the brief story from the SD Union. I know that she was a loving mother, devoted to her family. I know that she loved life (look at that smile after 26 grueling miles). I know that she trained hard for the marathon. I know that she ran the San Diego Marathon in January of this year, finishing in 3:53.54. (This I discovered through some detective work.) I know that she loved running. I know that Debbie Ryan was confident that she would qualify for the Boston Marathon at RNR Marathon. Her splits were consistent; she was 1:48 at the half and finished in 3:36. She took two minutes to cross the starting line but I'll bet she didn't worry. I'm guessing that her favorite part of the race was the music, but it may have been the crowds. I'll bet she was one of the ones who got bystanders to cheer for her as she went past, basking in the joy of the event. I wouldn't be surprised if she jumped on stage during the race and hammed it up with the bands. I know that anyone who was friends with Debbie will always cherish those times they spent together. There is so much about Debbie we don't know. If you know anything of her, or would like to add your thoughts, please e-mail them to me and we will get them on this site.

One more thing. She leaves her husband and two small girls. There is a memorial fund which has been set up in San Diego. If you would like to help, that would be wonderful. Identify yourself as a fellow runner. Let's show Debbie that she will not be forgotten.

Donations:

Debbie Ryan Memorial Fund

San Diego County Credit Union

501 N. El Camino Real

Encinitas, CA 92024-1319

*Read the Article from San Diego Union Tribune, June 7, 2002

Follow-ups

Gina Correll, Racy Lady and friend of Debbie Ryan wrote that she ran the Long Beach Marathon with 10 other Racy Ladies. Their motivation was to qualify for Boston in her honor. Of the 11 women running 9 (!) qualified for Boston.

Post Boston follow-up

Well, they did it. All of the women running finished the Boston Marathon this year, as well as the men who ran with the Racy Ladies. In addition, Debbie's father, (a non-marathoning doctor living in Florida) finished his marathon as well, wearing the shirt that Debbie wore on her race. It must have been an incredible experience. Gina Correll, one of the Racy Ladies, wrote me the following note after her experience:

Hi Mary-

Wow, what an incredible experience, I wish you could have been there. EVERYBODY that runs Boston must read Runner's World as they were all coming up to us and congratulating us for our cause and all telling us they thought we were great. We all started the race together in our tye-dye shirts and eventually thinned out and ran our own races. All the Racy Ladies finished the race. I was the only one that qualified for Boston again and I feel fortunate for that!

Stan (Debbie's father) finished the race in 5:14 but he could have gone much faster. It turns out that one of the women he ran with was actually treated with Hyponytremia and sent to ER after the race to be released the next day.

I think I'll definitely go back again next year although it will be a whole different experience and I won't be with 18 of my buddies. Thank you for your article it REALLY helped to get the story out there to the running community. We actually sold shirts at the race so funds are still going to the Debbie Ryan memorial fund.

Hope all is well and make sure to keep in touch.

Best.

Gina Correll