April• 2018 | 45READER’S DIGEST
duly recorded at 4.05pm (McAvoy’s
record has since been broken, in
2014.)WhileMcAvoylaywetand
exhaustedonabluematnexttothe
rowing machine, Davis turned to
himandsaid,“Youhaveagift.Not
manypeoplecanpushthemselves
anddowhatyoucando.Donot
wastethatgift.”
hen McAvoy, his back plaster-cast
stiff, returned to his cell. The other
inmates burst into applause as he
entered the wing. It was the irst time
John McAvoy had got respect for
anything that didn’t involve pointing
a gun at somebody.TODAY MCAVOYcompetes as a tri-
athlete. He knows how lucky he is
tohavemetDavis–hissensei–on
theothersideofthelaw.“Davisis
themanwhosetmeonthepathto
change,” he says.
From hardened criminal to a
redeemed man: if you wrote it as ic-
tion,noonewouldquitebelieveit.
ButforDavis–theprisonguard
andtheman–McAvoy’sturnaround
is not surprising. For Davis believes
that“Nomatterhowfardownthe
wrong road you’ve gone, it’s never
too late to turn back.”Evening approached. The last of
the staff clocked out, leaving McA-
voy and Davis to their private labour.
he lywheel hummed. In four years,
McAvoy had not been outside his cell
after dark. A thrill of freedom gripped
him. As midnight came and went, he
was lying.
Butaround2am,somethinghap-
pened. McAvoy started showing
signsofamanwhobadlywanted
to lie down. Davis dismounted and
crouchedclosetohim.
“Your brain is telling you to sleep,
buttrustme,thisisabsolutelythe
time to keep rowing,” he said. “I
promise you that in the morning,
when you’re used to waking up, you’ll
comeoutofthisdarkspell.”
Sureenough,comethedawn,McA-
voygothissecondwind.Asother
prisonersbegantowake,wordwent
through the prison that McAvoy was
still on the machine.
By late morning, the record was in
view. By 2pm McAvoy had it. But still
Davisappliedthespurs.“hemore
distance you put between you and
the next guy,” he said, “the harder
this record will be to break.”
Thenewofficialworldrecord–
263,396 metres (263.3 km) – was
DIGITAL IQHere’s a good rule of thumb:
Too clever is dumb.
OGDEN NASH