|
I was born in San Francisco in 1956 and raised in San Mateo, CA. I went to school at Serra High School in San Mateo and later, at the University of California at Davis. I was able to nuture my aspirations for becoming a doctor while attending these institutions. However, the spark of my interest in the field of medicine came from a close relationship with my uncle, who entered medical school when I was about 4 years old. He entered private practice in family medicine when I was starting junior high school, all the time having a profound influence on my eventual choice to pursue medicine as a career.
During my developmental years (when do those stop, if ever?), I also loved to play sports. I ran track, and played baseball, basketball, and football. I had hoped I was going to be the next Lynn Swann when I started at Serra High School (he graduated from Serra just before I matriculated and eventually went on to an NFL Hall of Fame career playing for the Pittsburg Steelers). However, I encountered one problem - its hard to become a football star when you top out at 5'11'' and 135lbs.
I eventually realized that above all else in sports, I excelled as a distance runner (and I had the frame for it too). I blossomed as a runner in high school and college in the 1970s. Maybe by coincidence and maybe not, in the United States, the sport of distance running also blossomed during those same 1970s. It turned out that my passion for running helped to determine the field of medicine that I would eventually become passionate about. The running boom of the 1970s gave birth to a greater awareness of running injuries, their care, and their prevention. In prominant running publications of the time, I read of the role that podiatrists can play in the care and prevention of running injuries specifically and in sportsmedicine in general. Wanting not to wander far from my running roots, I decided that the field of podiatric medicine was for me.
I learned, however, that podiatric medicine is not limited to sports medicine. In fact, I found that I enjoyed practicing the diverse elements of podiatric medicine - from pediatric care to geriatric care, from non-surgical treatment to surgical management, and from foot-specific disorders that make the whole body feel awful to systemic diseases that have manifestations in the feet. I like to ''do it all''. I take pride in being very knowledgeable on these diverse topics. Yet, I realize the day that I think I ''know it all'' should be the day that I hang it up. One can never truely ''know it all'' when it comes to the human body and its maladies. The refreshing beauty is that the drive to learn more, to know more, to be become a better podiatrist, is what drives my passion for the profession.
While I developed a passion for my profession, I managed not to lose a passion for running. I won the San Francisco Marathon in 1978 in a time of 2:21. I ran 2:16 at the 1979 Boston Marathon (45th fastest time ever on the American all-time list at the time), finishing 23rd overall and qualifying for the 1980 Olympic Trials. I have also run 10 miles in 49 minutes and 15 seconds (4:55 per mile).
Nevertheless, in my early years after graduating from podiatric medical school, residency and establishing a career forced running onto a very dimly lit back burner. As a consequence, I ballooned to over 220 pounds!
I eventually returned to running to help shed pounds and keep fitness. But running has always meant more than that to me. Just before turning 40, I joined the Aggie Running Club - a club noted for its many Master's (40+ year old) National Cross Country championship teams. (You might find some other info about the "Aggies", my teammates, and my previous performances at the link for my running club below.) Running for the "Aggies", I ran the Chicago Marathon in October of 2001 in a time of 2:42 - 167th overall out of 37,500 entrants - finishing first in the 45-49 y.o. age group!
Unforntunately, I suffered an injury in 2002 (a foot injury, to add insult to injury) that prevented me from running. It was then that I took up road cycling as a substitute for the fitness and competitive outlet that running had previously provided me. Within a few months of starting road cycling, I rode my first 100 mile century ride and rode my first road race.
Now I own too many bikes and race for a Santa Rosa based team called the Imperial Bobator Racing Team - a group that is irreverent and talented in equal doses. I race over thirty races per year, and have produced some modest results against 45+ year old riders that are among the best in the country.
My latest exploit was riding the Levi's Granfondo. What a beautiful day with wonderful vistas. Pics from Levi's Granfondo
Links:
| 
