Running for his Life
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
ESPN The Magazine‘s “Into the Wild” (ESPN.com Sunday 9 a.m.; newsstands May 18)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJSLo4KPpg
The journey of Kenyan cross-country runner Marko Cheseto was remarkable. Having traveled from near the equator to the top of the world to compete for the University of Alaska Anchorage, he went for a run on the bone-chilling cold night of November 6, 2011 – and vanished. His disappearance alarmed his coach and teammates, who knew that their star runner had been battling depression – haunted by a horrific event for which he felt responsible. Chris Connelly reports for OTL that what happened next in the saga of Marko Cheseto was shocking, transformative and utterly unexpected. (Guest will be University of Alaska Anchorage AD Steve Cobb.) Excerpts from Sunday’s OTL:
“He was from another planet. He’s extraordinary talented — I mean, how many people can stop and retie their shoe and still win a race?” — Dr. Steve Cobb, UAA Athletic Director, on Cheseto.
“I just ran from college to some point of the trail. I remember maybe five or 10 minutes of the run. And then that was it. I don’t remember anything else.” – Cheseto, on the night he went missing, November 6, 2011
“One of my officers called me and said they found Marko. (I said) ‘There’s no way. If you found him, you found him dead.’” — Rick Shell, university police officer
Junior Seau, Doug Miller and the Tragedies of the 1994 Chargers
ESPN.com
With Junior Seau’s death last week, eight players — all under the age of 45 — from the 1994 San Diego Chargers Super Bowl team have now died. One of them, Doug Miller, was struck by lightning — twice. Liz Merrill reports.
Friday’s OTL Examines Junior Seau’s Final Weeks
Outside the Lines (Friday, 3 p.m., ESPN)
Reporter Tom Friend talks with former San Diego Chargers Gary Plummer and Lorenzo Neal about their late teammate Junior Seau.
“I think he was depressed. Without a doubt, Junior was depressed. And that’s one thing we all know. We all know that Junior was depressed.” – Lorenzo Neal
“He was fabulous in front of a crowd. He was amazing on camera. He gave incredible speeches. And it just became a part of who he was. So he wasn’t going to tell anyone that he was having issues because he didn’t want to show weakness. And that quality that made him an amazing football player was ultimately his demise.” – Gary Plummer