Springfield's Nadeau breaks through for handcycle win

Eighteen years ago, Larry Nadeau couldn't have dreamed of a scenario that unfolded at Sunday's 27th annual People's United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/sports/marathon/2015/05/24/springfields-nadeau-breaks-handcycle-win/27886267/

Springfield's Nadeau breaks through for handcycle win Alex Abrami, Free Press Staff Writer 6:02 p.m. EDT May 24, 2015 People's United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay 05/24/15 Handcyclist Larry Nadeau of Springfield crosses the finish line in first place during the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay on Sunday morning. Nadeau was third a year ago. (Photo: BRIAN JENKINS/for the Free Press)

Eighteen years ago, Larry Nadeau couldn't have dreamed of a scenario that unfolded at Sunday's 27th annual People's United Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. The Springfield native was planted in a hospital bed in 1997, on a path to a long recovery from a motorcycle crash that left him with a broken back in two spots. "When you are laying in a hospital, you don't realize you can still do things in a wheelchair and stuff," Nadeau said. Which made Sunday an impressive feat for the 41-year-old. Nadeau ranked his way to victory in the handcycle division, the first competitor to cross the finish line at Waterfront Park in a time of 1 hour, 36 minutes and 39 seconds. "I just wanted to beat my time from last year," said Nadeau, who finished third in 2014, about 20 minutes behind Sunday's performance. With course recordholder and five-time VCM winner Jeremey Shortsleeve not entered in this year's handcycle race, the field had its opening for a new champion to emerge. Enter Nadeau. "If he did race," Nadeau said of Shortsleeve, "I was going to stay on his butt the whole way and hope to pass him at the end." And like Shortsleeve had done in previous VCMs, Nadeau seized an early lead by attacking the 26.2-mile course on Burlington streets. And he zipped through the finish tape ahead of the announcers' predicted call. "I definitely picked it up this year. More training, better bike," Nadeau said. "I feel good, the crowd pushes you through everything." When Nadeau took a spill on his motorcycle in 1997, he missed a turn and went into a pile of logs along a road in Londonderry. In the first month of his two-month hospital stay, he dealt with a staph infection that delayed surgery. "It happened a week before my wedding," said Nadeau of the injury that delayed his marriage to his wife, Kim, for a year. Picking up skiing and working out in his basement gym at home, Nadeau has led an active lifestyle. Still, there was some surprise to Sunday's winning effort. "I didn't expect this," he said. Of the 16 handcyclists for Sunday's race, Charlotte Merle-Smith of South Burlington was the first female to cross the finish line and eighth overall, at 2:18:33 unofficially. In the men's division, Robert Demic of Bristol was second (1:56:42) and Burlington's Patrick Standen took third (2:04:32).