Father, daughter to run together after accident

Victoria Sun

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

The first thing David Orange planned to do after completing the half-marathon held in conjunction with the 36th Las Vegas Marathon Sunday morning was call his buddy Jim Glassner to gloat.

"Whenever we did anything, we would call one another and say, 'Hey, I did this. I did that,' " Orange said. "And he would say, 'No you didn't.'

"He would be impressed. We were always trying to impress the other one, always playing a game of one-upmanship."

Those days came to an end last Dec. 16, when Orange and Glassner were hit by a truck as they were cycling in their hometown of Montgomery, Ala.

Glassner died that day. Orange feels lucky to be alive.

The 41-year-old Orange sustained numerous injuries, among them four broken vertebrae in his back, cracked vertebrae in his neck, a broken left shoulder blade, bruised ribs and torn tendons in his ankle.

Orange planned to run Sunday's half-marathon in preparation for the Gulf Coast Half Iron-Man Triathlon. He also planned to run in the 5K on Saturday with his daughter, Bonnie, a finance student at UNLV.

But because he is still recovering, Orange will participate only in the 5K. He'll have to skip the half-marathon.

"He'll definitely, definitely be heavy on my mind," Orange said of Glassner. "The doctors tell me I'm doing incredibly well.

"Leading up to the accident, I was in the best shape I was in, in a long time."

The fact that Orange was in such good health has helped him to heal at a rapid rate, he said. He began a rehabilitation program just two weeks ago.

There are touching stories throughout the marathon and its companion events.

In the marathon itself, 26 former stroke victims will run the final mile together to raise money for the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.

The final .2 mile of the marathon will feature 97-year-old James Tanzella, who had a stroke seven years ago.

Tanzella, of Las Vegas, will walk the final leg using the support of a walker.

Like most of the runners entered, Tanzella has a personal goal he'd like to achieve.

"There's some things I want to improve," he said. "First, I want to be able to walk without the walker. I like to be independent.

"I just keep trying the best I can."