Making a Difference: Kim Virden

"As founder of The Achilles Track Club-Team Wisconsin, she inspires others to run with - rather than from - their disabilities."

Kim Virden of Madison is not one to shy away from a challenge. The 45-year-old is a marathon runner, championship skier and nationally recognized bike racer. She’s even had the distinguished honor of carrying the torch during the Olympics. But athletic achievements pale in comparison to the uphill challenge she faced following one day in 1979.

Already an enthusiastic athlete at age 17, Virden endured a serious skiing accident. The resulting brain injury robbed her of her memory. It took five patient years of relearning to get her life back. And even then, things weren’t the same.

“Nothing worked for me after that,” recalls Virden. “I lost a connection with most of my friends in high school. After the accident there was a lot of depression and there was no motivation.”

Solace on the road

Virden eventually found solace in biking. Six years after her accident, she entered a small race near her hometown in Kalamazoo, Mich. Much to her surprise, she finished in second place.
“Riding a bike got me physically active again. It got me outdoors,” says Virden. “[The race] was a big turning point for me.”

As Virden tells it, that little bike race had her hooked. She trained and got stronger. She kept entering races and achieved the highest national ranking for a bicyclist. The ranking led to that 1996 Olympic torch hand-off to then Notre Dame head football coach Lou Holtz — an accomplishment that for Virden ranks No. 2 in her life.

Virden’s crowning achievement is also her life’s passion: the Madison’s Achilles Track Club, an organization that encourages people with all kinds of disabilities to participate in long distance running.

Virden first discovered the club while reading a book by Trisha Meili, better known as the Central Park Jogger, who was savagely raped, beaten and left for dead in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. Virden was drawn to Meili’s story about her recovery from her brutal beating and brain injury.

“She talked about how as part of her recovery she joined the Achilles Track Club,” says Virden. “First her rehabilitation was running a half a mile and before she knew it she was running regularly.”

Bringing the message to Madison

Intrigued, Virden began her own research. She called the club’s founder and inquired about starting a club in Madison. He encouraged her to come to New York to participate in the organization’s annual Hope & Possibility Run/Walk fundraiser.

“I got a ticket and I stayed with a blind runner. He took the subway and buses to get there to pick me up. He said, ‘You’ll recognize me — I’m the one with the white cane.’ He made sure I got around and showed me New York.”

Virden met other incredible individuals with disabilities that day. It didn’t take long to realize she had found the ultimate challenge.

“When I came back I was 120 percent excited,” says Virden. “I had to give everything I had into [starting a Madison Achilles Track Club chapter]. I started contacting people. I knew I had to get information out to the public to get people to come.”

Virden dutifully advertised and hosted weekly meetings. She’d often be the only one to show up. But her hard work and persistence finally paid off. The Achilles Track Club-Team Wisconsin, as it’s now called, is in its third year and has 50 active members.

“We heard about Achilles through the newspaper. We started going to workouts and we loved it,” says Rene Cromer, who joined with her husband, Bob. “Achilles has gotten him off the sofa and given him a social life.” A former airline and fighter pilot, Bob, 49, has had five strokes, lost a third of his brain function and lives with right side paralysis, frequent headaches and depression.

Beyond the workouts, Rene Cromer says her husband’s friendship with Virden has given him purpose and hope. “She’ll come over and visit us and check on Bob. She sits down next to him and even though he can’t converse with her, she understands how to communicate with him,” says Cromer. “Kim is not only a great coach, but she’s a wonderful motivator.”

Cromer says Virden has that personal touch with all Achilles members — people who have disabilities ranging from visual impairments to brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cancer and limb loss.

Camaraderie and support

In addition to Thursday night trainings, Virden arranges social gatherings for her athletes. She says, much like with her own experience and that of the Cromers, many in her club find that friends simply stop calling.

“People with disabilities really get alienated from society. Their friends feel uncomfortable and they don’t know how to talk to them anymore,” she says. Virden has seen how making time for social connection has become just as important as the training. “They certainly love that social part — they say let’s get the workout done so we can go to dinner!”

This past summer the Cromers and other Madison athletes joined Virden for the Hope & Possibility run in New York and cheered her on as she accepted the track club’s prestigious Athlete of the Year Award. In turn, Virden was just as excited to see her friend Bob Cromer complete the race — the longest distance he’d attempted since his strokes.

“I couldn’t believe he would do it or could do it, but Kim convinced Bob to do it and he got excited about it,” says Rene Cromer. “When we got to the finish line, we were the last ones to cross. Everyone had left, they were taking down the route markers and standing at the finish line was Kim. And she was sobbing and she hugged him so hard. She leads by example. She is just an incredible woman.”

Although Virden might have the medals and awards to prove that, she doesn’t hesitate to reveal what inspires her. “The Achilles has been a passion for me giving back and encouraging [people] to get active again. They just light up when we participate in these runs.” Their enthusiasm is Virden’s true inspiration.

Achilles Track Club-Team Wisconsin meets each Thursday from 5:45-7 p.m. at Fleet Feet Sports on Old Sauk Road. People who are interested in participating, volunteering or donating should contact Kim Virden at (608) 828-9700 or lovetorun5@yahoo.com.