WHAT MAKES A HERO?

By: Sandra Elzie

Have you ever met someone whom you admired because they had a dream and goals in life and went after them despite obstacles?  I know such a person.

This man ran 26.2  mile marathons in high school, but he wanted more and he was willing to work to get it.  He continued running through college, striving to improve, and even though he had set his sights on joining the Marines as an officer, he never gave up his other dream of someday participating in an Iron Man.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Iron Man race, he would have to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, (1.2 out and 1.2 back), bike 112 miles and then run a full marathon length of 26.2 miles.  It must be completed within 17 hours.  Personally, I’ve never understood anyone signing up for such abuse, but thousands do and some qualify to do it repeatedly.

After completing college and two years in the Marines, he set a new goal of flying jets for the military, so he applied to transfer to the Air Force and later repeated boot camp and was assigned to a base on the west coast to train as a navigator before being accepted into the flight program and getting his wings.  While stationed on the west coast, he also met the girl he would eventually marry and added a new goal.

After two tours of duty in Saudi Arabia, flying sorties in an EF-111 during Desert Storm, he accepted an assignment to train new pilots.  During this assignment, he and his wife became proud parents of a daughter and life for him would change, yet again.  He now had some additional goals.

After six years as a Pilot Trainer he took an assignment at the Pentagon where he survived the attack on Sept 11, 2001.  Over the years, he never quit training and racing and in 2005, at the age of almost 42, he qualified to participate in the Iron Man in Kona, Hawaii.  Needless to say, he was over the moon, but there was one slight problem.  Well, actually there was one major problem.

For a good part of his life, he had, on rare occasion, experienced an episode of his heart going from 50-60 beats per minute (bpm) to 200+ bpm, but after a minute or so, it would return to normal.  The clinical name is Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter or A-Fib/A-Flutter.  Fortunately, it seldom occurred and never lasted long, so didn’t interfere with his flying, but now things had changed.  The frequency had started to increase and the duration was now a couple hours to a couple days, which required hospitalization and medication to control.  He finally had an opportunity to participate in an Iron Man, yet his heart might prevent him from achieving this major dream.

Tests were run & surgery was discussed.  The procedure would be to go in and use a laser to create scar issue to block the signals that caused his heart to sometimes race out of control at a rate of over 300 bpm. If it worked, great, but if not, he would soon die…the heart wouldn’t be able to withstand such repeated abuse.

Surgery was scheduled for May 2, 2005  and if it was successful, ie, no episodes for 60-90 days, the doctor said he would be released to return to training for the Iron Man.  Crazy?  Don’t forget, this was his dream.  Did the young Air Force officer run scared, stop training and forfeit his dream?  No.  Surgery was performed, everyone prayed, and July 2005 he was cleared to start training again after 4 months of inactivity.  The race was October 15, 2005, so he had 3 ½ months to get ready…again.

The day of the race was like most days in Hawaii, sunny, hot and humid.  When the gun went off, he started swimming and never looked back. After his 2.4 mile swim, he began the grueling 112 mile bike ride through the hot lava beds along the Queen’s highway in Kona.  After about 35 miles, he approached a check point/refreshment station and reached for a cup of water while riding by.  Unfortunately, the volunteer didn’t let go fast enough and he was pulled off balance & slammed into the pavement, knocking him unconscious for a few seconds & busting his helmet.  Was the race over for this young man?  No.  After the medic held him for 35 minutes, he was back on the bike with major road burns on his shoulder, thigh & arm.  The following day x-rays would reveal that he finished the race with two cracked ribs.

It had been over 15 hours since the race had began, so it was a thrilling, crazy moment when I saw him round the last turn and start running down the “alley”, the last 200 yards to the finish line, where spectators line the road and cheer the runners to victory.

As he ran down the “alley”, he was holding his daughter’s hand and his wife ran behind to take a movie of his triumphant moment.  As I watched him cross the finish line with my granddaughter and my daughter, I was as proud as any mother.  You see, Barry Kent Barker is my son-in-law and I admire him more than anyone I have ever met.  He never gave up, overcame many obstacles, and realized his dream.  I’m very proud of him.  Click  Ironman Interview to see the interview by Channel 9 in Washington, D.C.

Kent is a devoted husband of 19 years and one of the best dads I’ve ever met.  He’s not just focused on his hobbies and goals, but is totally engaged in his marriage and his role as a father.  My daughter and granddaughter are very blessed.

So, what makes a hero?  A hero, first, is someone you can respect and admire.  Beyond that, in my opinion, a hero is someone who can be depended upon to do the right thing.  He sets goals and works to achieve them, not expecting a free lunch. It’s someone who rises above obstacles to do the extraordinary. Then as goals are reaches, new ones are set… always looking forward, never being content to coast through life

But Kent’s story doesn’t end there.  He is now retired from the Air Force, but works for a private company that has a contract with the government.  He still reports to work at the Pentagon and yes, he still races.  After serving for several years as president of his home association’s swim team, The Pirranahs, he earned certification as a USAT Race Director and Level One coach and then founded BRATS…Bristow Area Triathlon and Swim where he coaches students in the three elements of triathlon & teaches kids and adults how to set goals to improve and be successful in competition.  He and Kim, (president and vice-president of BRATS) also host races,  such as the  Salute to the Military, through the organization that Kent founded.

He got his wife, Kim, hooked on marathons and triathlons and the last few years his daughter, Brittany, has been active on the area swim team and has also joined the family sport of triathlon.

Kent, I applaud you and, oh yes, I wish you a very happy birthday, today, August 6^th.

Love,   “Mom”

http://ironman.com/events/ironman