Runner Pleads Guilty

Former marathon runner Dick Beardsley, runner-up in the 1982 Boston Marathon, pleaded guilty to forging prescriptions to obtain powerful painkillers.

Beardsley, 40, of rural Frazee, admitted in Clay County District Court he made copies of a blank prescription form in order to get five different types of painkillers, including Demerol.

“I just copied a blank prescription paper, and I just wrote the prescription myself and signed the doctor’s name,” Beardsley said at a brief court appearance.

Beardsley will be sentenced in about one month. Assistant Clay County attorney Christopher Lancaster said he was recommending Beardsley get 30 days probation, be ordered to pay $1,000 in fines, perform community service and pay restitution. Beardsley could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Beardsley was among the world’s best distance runners in the early 1980s, first winning the London Marathon in 1981.

But a string of serious vehicle, farming and household accidents later left Beardsley in almost constant pain.