Edinger Directs Tillman Foundation

(Article From EI Club News)

Former EIU track distance runner Perry Edinger has combined the challenge of competing in ultra marathons with a desire to serve those in need through his work with the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Edinger, Class of '84, who still ranks in the EIU 'top ten' in several indoor/outdoor distance events, served as the Head Athletic Trainer at Arizona State (1989-2003) but currently works as a medical assistant for a Phoenix area orthopedic surgeon.

 Tillman's story has been well documented as he gave up his NFL career and multi-million dollar salary to patriotically join the Army but was tragically killed by 'friendly fire' in Afghanistan. ''The Pat Tillman Foundation was originally established through the Arizona State School of Business's 'Leading Through Action' program. “I worked with Pat when he played at Arizona State and with the Cardinals, and we became good friends,” Edinger said.

“The Foundation offers scholarships which allows people to go through a leadership program that teaches them methods to complete a task or special project. This may range from someone who established an inner city basketball league to an individual involved with water reclamation back in his hometown in a drought stricken area in Africa." As part of the foundation, Edinger organized Pat's Run, an annual 4.2 mile race (in honor of Pat's uniform number 42) in Phoenix and in Tillman's hometown of San Jose. "I've been the race director for four years now. The first year we had 5500 runners. This past April we had 19,000 in Tempe and 6500 in San Jose, and now have raised in excess of one million dollars. There are just simply a lot of people who respect Pat so we try to help people with their dreams."

Edinger had dreams of his own and after competing in several marathon races over the years, including the Boston Marathon, he set his sights on the Grand Slam this past summer,

 The Grand Slam is the four oldest one hundred mile trail races in the United States, and you do them all in one summer, he said.  Edinger finished his last one in early October in Arkansas. The others were in Vermont, Colorado and Utah. Twenty started the Grand Slam and just six finished but the ultimate reward was that Edinger finished with the best overall time. In essence, he was the winner.

"I was the only runner to break 100 hours. The Grand Slam is a job in itself..  to train, manage the three to four weeks between the races and then have support people to help you. Finishing was important, winning was unexpected.”

Earlier this year Edinger had the honor of 'pacing' Lance Armstrong during the Boston Marathon. Through a connection with Nike, Edinger was paired with the famed Tour de France champion to make sure he was "taken care of during the race. "The whole Boston Marathon weekend" was amazing... you were treated like a rock star. But during the run was challenging because there were so many people yelling and screaming at him as he ran by. I would go over and get water at the check points because it wasn't safe for him to do that...people trying to run with him, up on his heels. He's a great guy so it was a very, good experience."

 Edinger's ultimate goal is next summer's 135 miler through the California desert up to Mt. Whitney. "Dr. Tom Woodall retired EIU cross country coach turned me on to this race back when I was an undergrad so it's been in the back of my mind ever since.

 "I want this to be my last race. I may help some other folks during a run but I don't plan to train hard anymore....just too much sacrifice. I want my running to be just for fun from here on."