Feb 6, 2008 | Athlete of the Month: January

pat ward Recently Pat ran the Phoenix Marathon, completeing the 26.2 miles in 3:47:52. Even though this wasn't a Boston Qualifier or a Personal record, this race was a prime example of Pat's drive for running. When Pat first came into our office it wasn't to improve his times, or for coaching, but for an injury. At 48, Pat decided to train for his first marathon and more specifically to get that golden ticket, a Boston Qualifier.

However, through the training he felt some pain in lower leg. Not enough to slow him or stop him from running in the Detroit Marathon; that is until the 20 mile marker when he broke his leg during the marathon AND STILL FINISHED. We met Pat in our clinic after that fateful day. He wanted to train smart and injury free and get that qualifier.

Since his broken leg Pat has run a number of races, setting a personal best at almost of them. He lowered his half marathon time down to 8 minutes per mile and his 5k down to 7:25 pace. This year at the Marine Corp Marathon he ran a huge personal record in 3:45:42. This month we chose Pat as our Athlete of the Month because of his hard work, positive influences at the group runs, and of course for his love of junk food, especially Buscemi's pizza...which make all those longs run and workouts worth it.