‘Unbridled joy’: Norfolk lawyer, veteran marathoner runs Air Force Marathon with colleague’s niece

At a firm holiday party in Norfolk, Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black principals Victor Cardwell and Richard Crouch began making small talk.

Crouch, a veteran runner who has participated in over 20 marathons, told Cardwell about his involvement with running marathons as a duo team, pushing a rider in a wheelchair along the route.

Cardwell, who sits in the firm’s Roanoke office, told Crouch about his niece, Dara. She has cerebral palsy after being born prematurely and uses a wheelchair.

The result of that conversation led to what Cardwell called “a day that I’ll never forget.”

In September, Crouch ran the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio with Dara, pushing her along the 26.2-mile course.

“She enjoyed it so much, and hearing about some of the other races that are maybe more widely known and have a lot more crowds, just the thought of running those really excited her as well,” Crouch said.

The idea to run that specific marathon came after a friend expressed interest in doing all the military marathons.

“It just turned out that the Air Force Marathon is in Dayton, Ohio, where Dara lives,” Crouch said. “It was meant to be.”

‘Let’s do it’

After their holiday party conversation, Cardwell reached out to Dara and Dara’s mother, Reba, about Crouch’s proposal.

“I called her up and, much to my excitement, Reba and Dara said ‘absolutely, let’s do it,’” Cardwell said.

From there, Crouch underwent planning for the race. He flew out to Ohio a few days before and brought his own running wheelchair, which was affixed with “Go Dara” signs on race day.

“They met a day or two before the race and had dinner, spoke and hit it off,” Cardwell said. “Dara has never met a stranger, and I probably should have warned Richard about it. But what’s so amazing about Richard is, I don’t think he’s met a stranger either.”

“I coordinated it through Victor, and he let me run with it in terms of reaching out directly to Dara and her family in Dayton,” Crouch said. “It all came together beautifully.”

They met a day or two before the race and had dinner, spoke and hit it off. Dara has never met a stranger, and I probably should have warned Richard about it. But what’s so amazing about Richard is, I don’t think he’s met a stranger either.

— Victor Cardwell, Woods Rogers

The race was held on a 90-degree early fall Saturday on a course with more terrain than the coastal Virginia areas where Crouch typically runs. Crouch and Dara took a little over five hours to complete the marathon. Tunes from Prince and an “Old School Running Mix” playlist featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z provided the soundtrack for their effort.

“[Dara] kept saying that she was really impressed with how overwhelmingly positive everyone was,” Crouch said.

About 500 miles away, Cardwell was visiting his daughter at college in Clemson, South Carolina. They followed Crouch and Dara remotely as they participated in the marathon.

“We were following that race from mile one, and then it got to the 5K mark, and then it got to the 10K mark, and then it got to the half mark,” Cardwell said. “Every moment was just (he paused), I couldn’t believe it was happening.”

Cardwell described seeing Dara finish the race remotely as “unbridled joy,” stating the emotions began to hit as she and Crouch crossed the 20-mile mark.

“To use my phrase, ‘sometimes you get dust in your eyes if you’re not careful,’” Cardwell said. “And I was definitely getting dusty at that point in time.”

The rest of Cardwell’s extended family also tracked Dara’s progress, updating each other in a family group text.

“We were all following this thing, just every step of the way,” Cardwell said.

The ‘giving part’

Crouch and Cardwell became colleagues following the merger of the Woods Rogers and Vandeventer Black law firms in 2022. Both men said the Air Force Marathon was an illustration of the strength of that union.

“Clients and the work are obviously a primary component of what we do, but then there’s the giving part of it,” Cardwell said. “That was exactly who [Crouch] is, who they are, and what every law firm in the commonwealth should want to be like.”

“It’s just a sign that our cultures are very consistent,” Crouch said. “It’s just a good fit of doing things that are just meaningful and impactful and also showing that we’re there for each other too.”

With the Ohio marathon in the rear-view mirror, Dara and Crouch are already discussing another race. The pair are targeting the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March as a potential next race.

I think the hope and goal is that not just Dara and her immediate family, but Victor and all the aunts and uncles and everyone will come to cheer her on, and some of them may even run in the race as well.

— Richard Crouch, Woods Rogers

“I think the hope and goal is that not just Dara and her immediate family, but Victor and all the aunts and uncles and everyone will come to cheer her on, and some of them may even run in the race as well,” Crouch said.

Cardwell has already committed to attending to support his niece, who he described as a person who “changes the temperature” whenever she enters a room.

“I can assure you, that while I missed this one in person, I lived every step along the way,” he said. “I will not miss the next one. I will be there.”

Cardwell also credited his colleague for giving his family the experience of the marathon.

“I don’t know how many people know the joy of it, that he gave me and our family by letting her complete something that less than 1% of the world could ever think about doing, and that is run a marathon,” Cardwell said. “And that’s because of Richard Crouch.”