Sid Busch never met Matthew Vincent Dillon.
But with every stride Busch took throughout the 26.2-mile course of last year’s Marine Corps Marathon in the D.C., he thought about the Marine Lance Corporal from Aiken, S.C.
Dillon is the reason Busch runs marathons.
They are the stage the retired Navy submariner uses to honor soldiers killed while serving this country.
Busch, 62, hopes he’ll be easy to spot among more than 17,000 runners who will fill the streets of downtown this morning as part of the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival. He’s hoping to wear a T-shirt displaying the name of a fallen solider before presenting it to the soldier’s family as a token of his appreciation for their son’s ultimate sacrifice. But Busch has yet to find a soldier to honor just days before his 153rd marathon.
“I just really want to let them know that their son has not been forgotten,” said Busch, who has been running marathons for nearly a quarter-century.
Busch, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., who resides in a suburb of Charleston, S.C., is a member of “Running in Honor of Fallen Heroes,” an organization founded shortly after the 2003 Marine Corps Marathon. The organization has honored 57 soldiers from 2004 to 2007, according to its Web site.
Busch asked permission from Dillon’s parents, Neal and Lucy, if he could run in memory of their son, who was killed in northern Iraq along with three other marines, when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb on Dec. 11, 2006 — less than two weeks from Dillon’s 26th birthday.
“The physical effort of running a 26.2-mile marathon and the mental dedication required of our friend, Sid Busch, to carry the banner of our son’s patriotism and leadership serve not only to honor our son’s sacrifice, but also the sacrifices of over 4,000 of our finest men and women this nation has to offer,” Neal Dillon said. “Both [Matthew and Sid Busch] are natural-born leaders and true patriots who put country above self.”
Busch said: “It’s my way of showing that I have great respect for what he did. And being retired Navy, it helps me. I feel guilty, I got too old that I can’t serve now. It makes the marathon a lot more meaningful than running it for myself.”
But Busch, who served in the Navy from 1965 to 1991, ran his first marathon to prove to military officials he was physically able to work on a submarine after suffering what was perceived as a career-ending injury.
In 1984, Busch ruptured a disc in his back and was almost declared unfit for duty. But he made a deal with his physician: If he completed a marathon, he could return to his job.
“They were getting ready to medically disqualify me from submarines,” Busch said. “I struck that deal with the surgeon, and that was 152 marathons ago. Sometimes, I think I should have my head examined.”
Busch ran the Hunter Army Field Marathon that year and hasn’t stopped running since — competing in events across the country, in Canada and as far away as Rota Rua, New Zealand, “the most beautiful place” he’s ever seen.
Busch has run in so many marathons he can’t remember specifics. He says this will be his second Baltimore Marathon, but he can’t remember the first, as the thousands of miles have blended together.
But his purpose for running each one remains clear.
“I wish I could run the marathon with them,” he said, “instead of for them.”
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