CRESTVIEW HILLS — Tori Murden is no ordinary jock. She is funny and profound. She quotes the Bible, Homer and 11-year-old boys. She is a record-setting athlete with a poet's soul.

        Best of all, she has perspective. Bombarded with speaking requests, Ms. Murden sometimes thinks to herself: “I didn't feed the poor. I didn't educate the ignorant. I rowed a boat.”

        Then she thinks: Might as well make the most of it.

        Ms. Murden brought her unique blend of humility and eloquence to Northern Kentucky, speaking at an annual luncheon for lawyers. The event honors the late Judge Judy West, the first woman on the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

        Ms. Murden, of Louisville, is the first American to row alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She completed her journey last December, after 81 days at sea.

Amazing effort
        It was an extraordinary feat. Using nothing but muscle and current, she traveled 2,960 miles, starting off the coast of Morocco and ending at Guadeloupe. On her best day, she logged 94 miles. On her worst, she went 13 miles in the wrong direction.

        She befriended birds and dolphins, whom she named for characters in a Tennessee Williams play. She endured a tropical storm. When not rowing, she used e-mail to answer questions from schoolchildren.

        Now back in Lousiville and recently married, Ms. Murden, 37, is writing a book and pondering her next move. She has a master's degree in divinity from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Louisville.

        She talked with the lawyers about the meaning of her accomplishments.

        “What difference does it make to the world if someone rows across the ocean or not?” she asked rhetorically.

        Her answer: It's not the journey that matters, but the tenacity it requires. She had to test herself. Now she knows her strength; we all would do well to have the same insight.

        A TV personality once asked Ms. Murden whether she considered herself an athlete.

        “I thought, "Now wait a minute!'” she said, to laughter from the audience. “I skied to the South Pole, rowed across the Atlantic, I even played college basketball. What does a woman have to do in Kentucky to be considered an athlete?”

More than conquerers
        Then she realized he intended a compliment: He considered her more than a sports figure.

        This struck her as both a sad commentary and an opportunity to make a point.

        She shared with the audience a passage from Romans: “We are more than conquerors.”

        This is the challenge to all winners, she said, whether they're crossing the ocean or prevailing in court.

        “We need to be more than conquerors. We need to do it with civility, grace, charm and style.”

        Growing up with a mentally disabled brother, she fought many battles on his behalf, she said. After one round of playground abuse, a popular, athletic boy chastised the others. There will be no more teasing of Tori's brother, he said.

        “For two years of my life, our world changed, because for the first time our neighborhood was safe.”

        She looked at the sea of lawyers in the room.

        “If this 11-year-old kid can do this for a group of children, imagine what we adults can do, if we just put our minds to it.”

       Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. She can be reached at (859) 578-5584 or ksamples@enquirer.com.

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