A path comes full circle
Dan Wright has been part of the Murray Run Greenway trail since its inception. His labor of love has been completed and will be dedicated in his honor.
By Erinn Hutkin
981-3138

He wore a shirt from the Columbus, Ohio, marathon, one of 19 he has participated in since taking up running "as a kid" at age 39.

As volunteers pushed wheelbarrows this chilly Saturday morning and lined a path snaking into the woods with rocks, Dan Wright watched from the Murray Run Greenway trail head.

"I wish I could be working," he said, motioning to the trail.

Instead, this longtime runner sat in his wheeled walker.

He can't walk very far anymore, he admits.

His speech is slightly slurred and soft, his movements slow and jerky -- all visible signs of the disease that is gradually robbing Wright of the use of his body.

In October 2004, after 22 months of trying to figure out what was wrong, the Raleigh Court resident who turns 60 on Monday was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The degenerative disease of the nervous system will gradually take Wright's ability to speak, move and eventually -- take his life. But for the past three Saturdays, volunteers who know the runner have worked to ensure that Wright's contributions to the running community and his neighborhood will remain timeless.

They spent cold mornings hauling and packing dirt, shoveling and uprooting tree stumps to create a landscaped trail head at the Shrine Hill Park greenway that will be dedicated to Wright during a March 3 ceremony.

Already, a sign is posted at the trail's start.

"This trailhead has been dedicated to and in honor of our friend Dan Wright," it reads, "in recognition of his extraordinary volunteer contributions to the ... Murray Run Greenway."

Wright's involvement with the greenway dates to 1999, when he was recruited by a friend and fellow runner to help develop a path in Raleigh Court. He spent 18 months planning the greenway that now stretches from the Grandin Road park through roughly two miles of big trees and creek beds before ending at Virginia Western Community College. And when construction of the greenway began in early 2001, Wright was known for spending hours moving rocks and spreading mulch.

Landscaping the trail head and marking it with signs should call more attention to the greenway, said Chad Van Hyning, Wright's neighbor and president of the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League.

"The fact that it was going to be dedicated to Dan got everyone excited," he added.

The project was completed by 35 volunteers from the civic league, Star City Striders -- a running group Wright was once president of -- as well as Hollins University faculty and members of the young professionals group Valley Forward. About $3,000 was contributed by the Striders and the area's Pathfinders for Greenways group, said Melissa Speed, a civic league volunteer.

More amenities will be added this summer, Speed said, such as native trees and bushes, benches and a picnic area.

As he watched the work Saturday, Wright's sweat shirt was topped by a fleece jacket promoting Roanoke's Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, an annual race he helped organize. He also coached runners to compete in marathons in San Diego, San Francisco and Dublin, Ireland, to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

He ran the Virginia Beach marathon five times and Charlottesville's 26.2-mile race four years in a row.

Those were just for fun.

It was while training for the San Francisco race a decade ago that Roanoke resident Barbara Robertson met Wright. Dressed in spandex running pants, she spent Saturday morning working on the trail that will be dedicated to her coach.

"He's really been such a positive influence on the lives of so many in this valley," she said. "It's hard to see him go from running several marathons a year to this."

Wright said he hopes to attend the dedication next weekend. But on Saturday, he showed his appreciation to those who helped. Over and over, the thanked volunteers for their work.

"We're glad to do it," Robertson said, leaning over to give her coach a hug.
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