Girl’s Fight With Cancer Inspired His Comeback
By Joe Nuss
Richard Allen’s life was dominated by triathlon. Having turned pro at just 18 years old, he spent all of his adult life focused on training and racing. By the time he turned 30 the 25 to 30 hours a week of training, the traveling, the racing, and the feelings of guilt when he had a few beers with friends made him yearn for what he called “a normal life”. He was one of the most successful ever British triathletes but, he walked away from a pro career in triathlon.
“Triathlon gave me so much and so many great experiences but, I got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying it at all,” said Richard. “I was doing it no longer just for the love of the sport but, as a job. I would travel to an amazing destination and it wouldn’t even register where I was. I was in a daze and just going through the motions. My performances certainly dropped as I was no longer a young kid hungry for success.”
Richard admits that he was drifting through his career in the later years. “I stopped doing something I loved even though I was still good at. I should have been living every day to the fullest and putting my talents to good use but, I wasn’t.”
Richard didn’t give up triathlon completely, though. He started a coaching business in Charlotte, maintaining his ties to the sport and giving back to others the vast experience and knowledge he gained through triathlon. During this time, he also got engaged and finally got to enjoy those few beers with his friends without feeling guilty.
Soon after retiring, though, Richard learned about Ellis Harriet Clark, the cousin of an executive at one of the businesses that sponsored him. Richard met Ellis a few times before and knew she was much different than him. She was different not just because she had Osteosarcoma, a common form of bone cancer, but because she was living life to the fullest.
“She was always bright and bubbly. Ellis was a beautiful young girl and you would just never know she had terminal cancer. Then one day she was gone,” said Richard. Sadly, Ellis died from cancer. She had just turned 16.
“My Grandma had cancer and my aunt has cancer,” added RIchard. “It is all around us. But what shocked me with Ellis was that she had cancer from 12 to 16 years old. First, imagine being that age and coping with cancer. Second, imagine never having the chance to do a triathlon, to travel and do all the amazing things I have done. It was a huge wake up call for me.”
After witnessing all of Ellis’ potential swept away by cancer, Richard knew he couldn’t waste his. “She was an amazing girl,” he said. “But, she never had a chance to even realize her potential and there I was, wasting my own. I knew then, I had to come back. I had to come back and honor the memory of Ellis.”
Inspired by Ellis to do something positive, Richard re-established himself as a pro so that he could raise awareness and money for cancer research. Beginning in 2009, he committed to donate his winnings to the Ellis Harriet Clark Foundation, a charity in Ellis’ name which benefits children and teens with cancer in the United Kingdom. Unlike before, Rich now chooses to race for others and celebrate Ellis’ life.
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For more information on Richard, including a link to the Ellis Harriet Clark Foundation, please visit http://www.richardallenfitness.com/ or visit the Ellis Harriet Clark Foundation directly at http://www.ellisharrietclark.org/.
