Posted by Drew Rogers on January 30, 2003:

Scott Owen was a friend of mine. He has been and still is an inspiration to me. I first met Scott when we were on the wrestling team together. He was a Varsity wrestler and I was JV. I did not get to know him well then, but I did learn about his work ethic and his intense desire to succeed. He dislocated his shoulder early in the year and had to default a match. He got it taken care of and was back at practice ready to go the next day. His shoulder kept popping out of place and he had to default several matches. Each time he would return to practice right away. Finaly the coach told him that he needed to find a new sport because his shoulder would not allow him to keep wrestling. He very quickly became a marathon runner. I'm not sure how good he was at first, but I bet he was good. I did not really know Scott that well until we went to IOBC and flight school together. We were in the same IOBC and flight school class. I then became good friends with Scott. By that time he was an outstanding runner and triathlete. He not only excelled at IOBC and flight school, but always found time to train. His studied more than I ever thought of and trained like a mad man. I ran several races with Scott. I would see him at the start, but he would quickly be out of sight. My most memorable story about Scott is the time he asked me and Mark Spurgeon to bike to Panama City with him. This was about 90 miles. We left early one Saturday morning. Riding 90 miles was going to take all of my effort. Not Scott. He had gotten up a few hours before us and ran 20 miles in the dark first. I stayed with him for about 20 or 30 miles, but then I couldn't keep up. Eventually he left Mark in the dust. After he got to Panama City he swam a few miles in the ocean. His exploits as a runner, biker, and swimmer were fantastic. However, Scotty the person was even better. I have never heard him say a bad word about another and he was always willing to help anyone who needed help. He was a true friend. Years later I returned to Fort Rucker and learned of Scotty's death. I soon became a runner. In fact I still run today. Whenever I'm tired or don't want to train I think of Scott. I know that he must have had bad days or days that he didn't feel his best, but he always keep trying. He is my role model. I try to be the type of person Scotty was. I will never match his intensity or his ability to get along with anyone. He truly was a great person. One who was taken from us way too early. I miss Scott Owen to this day.

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