20 years after ASU star Pat Tillman died in Afghanistan, his legacy lives on with these runners
When Bill McGowan, who was already an avid runner and had done nearly a thousand races since 1980, signed up for a new race he saw pop up on the calendar in 2005 called “Pat’s Run,” McGowan didn’t know much about Pat Tillman.
He knew who Tillman was and how he died the prior year while serving with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan. He had a ton of respect for the former ASU and NFL player who left his football career to join the Army, but McGowan wasn’t an expert on him.
Now, 20 consecutive Pat’s Runs later — completing the most recent one April 13 — and one memorable hour-long conversation with Bruce Snyder later, McGowan is one of Tillman’s biggest fans. He’s been able to build his own little museum over those years.
“Pat’s Run (is) something special,” McGowan said. “I’ve decided to save the entry form, bib number, paper memorabilia and the T-shirts – and all 20 of them are hanging on one hanger.”
McGowan, 62, who is from Chicago, moved to Arizona in April 2000 and lives in Mesa. After he started doing Pat’s Run, McGowan started to seek out as much as he could on Tillman.
In McGowan’s eyes, and like many other Arizonans, Tillman is the pinnacle of patriotism.
“This guy is a true American legend to give up his (NFL) contract when the war broke out to go and serve his country,” McGowan said. “That’s more than enough to say that this guy is a true human being and put his country first, and look what happened to him. You look for positive role models in your life and I think Pat is the ultimate role model, what he stood for and his actions speak louder than words.”
Monday marks 20 years since Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004.
In 2002, Tillman was a safety with the Arizona Cardinals, after a stellar career with the Sun Devils that included a Rose Bowl appearance. He was an unrestricted free agent and the team offered him a three-year, $3.6 million contract to stay with Arizona, but he opted to leave the NFL and join the Army. The decision came not long after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. the prior year.
McGowan used to suffer from depression and is a cancer survivor after a health scare in 2020. He was able to beat the skin cancer, but it wasn’t easy – the operations required 100 internal stitches and 300 external stitches over a six-month period. McGowan’s doctor told him that he was six months away from dying.
While he may not be able to run the same mile times he had in the past, that drive to keep going remains strong as ever.
“I just thank God every day I can get up and do this stuff,” McGowan said. “I still do it.”
Over the years, the 4.2-mile event ― the distance honors the No. 42 Tillman wore for ASU ― has grown tremendously. It was supposed to be an intimate affair the first year, but 5,000 showed up. Close to 30,000 showed up to the 20th anniversary this year.
Lorin Oliver, a 1992 ASU graduate who watched those Pat Tillman teams, also has done every single iteration of Pat’s Run just like McGowan. He used to do other local road races, like the Run of the Mill, but not anymore. Now it’s just Pat’s Run.
Oliver, 55, grew up in a military family with his father serving in the Air Force and moved around the world.
Alongside his ASU roots, Oliver feels deeply connected to Tillman. He even has a personalized ASU license plate on his 2020 Audi R8 that reads “42RIP,” which he secured at the Arizona DMV 20 years ago.
“The flag means more to me than most, especially when you live overseas,” Oliver said. “The fact that he felt so moved to do what he did, it just gives me chills right now to talk about it. Who does that? No one did that 20 years ago and no one would do it today. People often say, it if came down to this, I would do that. Talk is very cheap. He is someone who didn’t even feel the need to say what he was going to do. He just did it. Which makes it better. His reasons were personal and they were intense. I have so much respect for him.”
The race every year can lead to special memories. One of those for McGowan was a conversation with Bruce Snyder, the former ASU football coach from 1992 to 2000.
It was 2008 and McGowan had just finished the race when he saw Snyder, who was the starter for the race that year.
“On Packard Drive, I see Bruce Snyder. I just wanted to shake his hand, thank him and walk away," McGowan said. "We wound up talking for an hour. It was like talking to your grandfather. I couldn’t thank him enough. I just wanted to meet him. The following April, he passed away. It was a moment I captured in my mind. This is the lasting connection you have ― this was the last person who was Pat’s coach (at ASU). It doesn’t get any closer than that.”
McGowan and Oliver have no plans to stop anytime soon.
Because each time they suit up, make the trip to Tempe and cross that finish line on the 42-yard line in the football stadium, they are honoring Pat in their own way. Even when Oliver sees an Arizona fan, a school he admittedly has a deep disdain for, at Pat’s Run, rivalries are discarded for the moment.
It’s all about Pat.
“I was loosening up in the crowd, looking around and I was marveling at how many people I saw out there that were not even alive when he died,” Oliver said after this year’s Pat Run. “I noticed that. I found that impactful because that makes me feel good about it, knowing these people weren’t even alive yet when he passed and yet, they’re out here in his memory wanting to run in this race. That gives me hope that he won’t be forgotten, that the legacy continues and they’ll continue to share the word with others that come behind them.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pat Tillman's legacy lives on 20 years later for Pat's Run veterans
