Man Runs for Police Lieutenant Who Helped Him at Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah

Robert McCoy and Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Dept. Sgt. John Cain crossing the finish line together at last year's Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Half Marathon. Photo: Casey Jones Photography

Nearly 365 days later, Robert McCoy still doesn’t know why he fell face first 200 yards shy of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Half Marathon finish line in 2015, leaving a two-inch swatch of blood oozing down his nose, past his lips and down to his chin, which blended nicely with his bleeding knees.

McCoy doesn’t know if he tripped over his own two feet, stumbled on the railroad track or just passed out from exhaustion. All he knows is that Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Dept. Sgt. John Cain was there, listened to his pleas to let him complete the race and that Cain escorted McCoy the rest of the way.

Down on the ground for several minutes as emergency personnel tended to him on a day when the November temperature soared to 86 degrees, McCoy kept saying, “I’ve got to finish the race! I’ve got to finish the race!”

“My heart went out to him,” recalls Cain, who remembers telling McCoy, “We’re this close to the finish line, buddy. We can go together.”

With his right hand hooked around McCoy’s left bicep, the men crossed the finish line together.

Two days later, McCoy, with his nose patched, delivered his finisher’s medal to Cain.

“It was completely humbling that he would do that for me,” Cain says. “I didn’t expect anything. I was just out there doing my job, trying to make sure everyone had a good time.”

McCoy, who is in his eighth year of remission from stage IV lymphoma cancer, was running the race in honor of his father Frank McCoy who died of colon cancer on April 30, 2015. He was 72.

“I was doing it for my Daddy,” says McCoy, who lives in Hinesville, Ga., and works for the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart.

Thirty-nine days after the race, Cain was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The cancer, he said, is incurable but treatable.

Cain and McCoy are both 50 years old. Cain is married with three children, ages 26, 24 and 18. McCoy is divorced with a 23-year-old son. They met because of McCoy’s running prowess. His half-marathon PR is 1 hour, 22 minutes, 5 seconds, set in 2013 at Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah.

He turned serious about running after beating lymphoma.

“When I was in the hospital (receiving chemotherapy), I said, ‘I’m going to do something,’” McCoy says. “I started running for my health.”

The video and still images of McCoy and Cain crossing the finish line in unison are captivating. McCoy in shorts and singlet, looking dazed, his face and knees bloodied. Cain in full police uniform, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. A medical support member pedaling a bike behind them, smiling. The story went viral, McCoy doing interviews for the Today Show, Fox & Friends and USA Today.

“It wasn’t just a chance meeting for us,” Cain says. “It was kind of meant to be. It’s given me a whole new respect for the running world, I’ll tell you that.”

Of Cain, McCoy says, “I’m real grateful to him. I wouldn’t have got to the finish line if it weren’t for him. He’s just a nice guy, a very nice guy.”

Last spring, two 5Ks were held to raise money, helping Cain cover medical bills. McCoy ran in one of them. He sends medals and T-shirts to his friend from races he’s run.

“His Daddy having cancer, then I end up having cancer,” says Cain, his voice trailing off. He doesn’t finish the sentence, nor does he need to.

“Robert tells me, ‘John, keep plugging away. Keep fighting. I’m running for you.’ That’s inspirational for me,” Cain adds. “If somebody I just met is willing to go out and tough it out in the rain, the cold, the sun—and you know how hot it can get in Georgia—and run for me, the least I can do is keep fighting.”

When Cain was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer he was given four months to live. He’s given the stiff arm to that diagnosis.

McCoy will run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Half Marathon again this Saturday, Nov. 5. He’ll do so in discomfort, with pain in one of his Achilles requiring steroid shots in his heel.

“I’ll get it done,” he said. “Not necessarily fast, but I’ll finish.”

Cain has been on leave since December. He was recently promoted to lieutenant. He finished another round of chemotherapy last week and vows to be at the finish line.

“Whether I’m standing or sitting, I’m going to be there,” Cain says, “watching him finish.”

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