Saul Raisin: Coma to Comeback Road to Ironman

I met Saul at the Clarendon Cup Bike Race this year and how could you not get drawn in by his story. I'm half way through his book and wanted to share some of his thoughts moving forward. Forget Tony Stark, Saul; you're the real Ironman, brother.

A little over three years ago I lay comatose in a French hospital. I almost lost my life. My massive brain injuries were the result of a high-speed bicycle crash. My parents stood at my bedside, trying to comprehend the prognosis. They were told by doctors that I could be possibly brain dead, if I was to live they needed to find a nursing home to put me in because I would need special health care assistance the rest of my life. At the time I am told that I was the youngest team leader ever in the Sport of Cycling. At the age of 23 my future in cycling could not have been brighter. In the blink of an eye my world changed. In that same instant, though I couldn’t possibly comprehend it at the time, my life gained real purpose.

Doctors have called my recovery miraculous. Within the last three years I’ve raced in the US Pro Cycling Championship, run the New York City Marathon,Married and Divorced within 8 months, and competed in several Triathlons. I told my friends and family when I was in the hospital if I ever lived a normal life again that I wanted to give back and help people like me. Now I have started the Raisin Hope foundation and I’ve written a book to let others know that they are not alone. If I am not giving motivational speeches to crowds numbering in the thousands, or competing in Triathlons, I plan on spending time with our Wounded Soldiers from the war. In short, my experiences have gone beyond the impossible. This year my goal is to be the first person to come back from a Brain Injury as severe as mine and complete the Ironman in Hawaii.

To find out more about Saul's story check out :
www.raisinhope.org = my foundation

What advice do you have for someone who has suffered an injury taking them of the bike a while in terms of building back up stamina & strength?

Take time and do not panic to get back into good form. Good condition is not something you can rush. I find that it is best to accept the condition you are in and use that to learn about yourself and improve as a person.

Where are you currently in your training for the Ironman

Georgia and Philadelphia

What sort of diet did you have which helped you recover?

I do not think my Diet helped in my recovery. I was 125lbs after my coma and I gained 50lbs in the hospital. My resting metabolic rate they calculated at 13,000 calories a day because of high temperatures and my brain trying to heal it's self. . I was eating 3 times a day put snack in-between.

What do you like about what Lance has done for the sport. Is there anything you would do differently that you are comfortable to say?

He has given millions of people hope. His comeback from cancer is inspiring and shows others that you can over come obstacles in life no matter how big they are. The only thing I would have done different is won the Tour de France on a French team.

Do you feel the sport has cleaned up the way it should?

It is getting better. Because of the longitudinal testing of the French riders and blood passports where they look for changes in blood chemistry it is impossible to take performance enhancing drugs in the sport. As a spectator you can rest assured that in the Tour de France is 100% clean and guys that try to cheat will get caught.

What is your view of North American bike racing today?

Cycling is growing and I hope is going to continue to grow.

What do you eat and drink while racing during event?

Gu H20, Gu Roctane gel(best gel in the market), GU Chomps Energy Chews
What is your back strengthening regimen?

Sit-ups, push-ups, very light weights.

How are you getting the message out on our Vets from Iraq.

As far a our vets. The deal is this is the first war were we are able to save the lives
of our VETS from injuries in all previous wars would have killed them. Because of this
it is creating tens of thousands of them with TBI and other disabilities that they
will take with them their whole lives. The disabilities are so sever the government is
over whelmed and is doing every thing in its power to get them the care they need.
The thing is that the Government is trying to build state of the art brain injury rehab centers
but there are not really in place much less can handle the needs of the thousands already with
brain injuries. It is sad to say that it has taken this war to get the governments attention on how
sever a brain injury it. As far as the American public, they pick up my book and
read the book jacket about a kid who came back from a life treating brain injury. But yet
they do not know how substantial that it. I believe it will be five years after the war when it
hits America how severe a brain injury is and the devastation we have done. This war will affect the lives of hundreds
of thousands of people. I am in a state of panic trying to raise awareness for brain injury and our wounded
warriors.

Eddy Van Guyse 35 Years after "Breaking Away"

Some of you may not know Eddy Van Guyse by name but you will remember the hit out of nowhere that he played in;"Breaking Away". Eddy played the Italian villain that put a bike pump into the spokes of the young Italian bike racer wannabe Dave Stohler and shattered his view of the way the world really works. The movie had a great script and Peter Yates directing of "Bullitt" and "The French Connection" fame but it needed someone with racing experience to breathe authenticity into it. That someone was a young Belgian bike racer who grew up in Chicago 3 blocks from Wrigley Field, named Eddy Van Guyse. Eddy told me he won the part with his swarthy Italian "look" and wore a shirt with the top buttons undone chest hair and all. I saw the film when I was in high school and after getting goose bumps watching the bike racing scenes decided I.U. was the place for me. I've gotten to know Eddy through our mutual continued interest in cycling through the CSC bike race in Arlington and the bond from riding in the Little 500 at IU in different eras. I've had the conversation since, that had he not lent his technical expertise to the film it probably would not have rung true even though it was great story and I never would have ended up going to Indiana.

Ben: Eddy do you think kids today will relate to "Breaking Away" the way that my generation did in the late 70's?

Eddy: I think humans have not changed at the core. We all have brains, hearts and blood pumping through them.
Kids today may have a stronger index finger from punching the buttons on video games and computers but they still relate to a good story. One thing I find is that kids have more trouble making eye contact and connecting in general. The best teachers i had growing up were also able to articulate a good story.

Ben: You've told me in the past that Peter Yates pulled you aside for technical advice on the movie "Breaking Away".
You put the kabash on the bikes with reflectors and coaster brakes that were going to be used for the movie.

Eddy:When I met Peter Yates I asked him if he wanted to make a movie that had bike rides featured or did he want to make a movie about bike racing.
There were some things on the bikes that they gathered that not give the look of a bike racing movie. He said "Eddy we need to talk to you more about this "

Ben: You mentioned that you were a pretty good baseball player and being 3 blocks away from Wrigley field, what made you choose bike racing over baseball?

Eddy: We played makeshift baseball with a rubber ball against a wall in an alley painted with a square. This was the era of free range kids. My mother called us alley cats and would say things like "Come inside you alley cats!" as it approached 9 o clock at night. My family took me to the velodrome races in Konshen and Northbrook in Chicago and I could see that they admired the racers as I did and I decided I wanted to become a bike racer. The decision was of my own free will. My parents encouraged me to make my own choices.

Ben: You told me your father was a big influence in your life and that he was a people person and that's where you got that gift.

Eddy: My father survived three months in a concentration camp during World War 11 and almost a year after he was deported to a work camp. When we came to Chicago he was very good at reading people. He could smell a rat and one thing I remember was how he was very outspoken aabout Fidel Castro being a dictator when he rose to power before it became apparent to everyone. The Belgian community in Chicago was important to my father.

Ben:What would you tell someone who wants to be a bike racer.

Eddy: Are you ready to deal with pain. People also don't realize how lonely the training can be to be. A champion is able to ignore the pain

Ben: How did you develop as a bike racer?

Eddy: I was 5'6" my freshman year at !U. When I was an intermediate racer I could not crunch down the big gears like the big boys in the sprints on the track but I had endurance. I finished my freshman year at 6 foot. Now I was able to add
more power to my racing but my strength was as a road racer.

Ben: You've said before that the "Little 500" race felt like a gladiator entering the arena...

Eddy You have no other intramural event like it with a stadium built for 30,000 people for a bike race. The other thing about the "Little 500" is that it is a team race. I've done Madison races and other amateur team events but this was a more defined team event. The racers that have been through the Little 5 at I.U. become like your brothers.

Ben: What are your views on professional sports in America.

Eddy: I have a 4 letter word for what pro athletes do: P-L-A-Y while the rest of us
W-O-R-K. Athletes should keep this in perspective.