Midwest Freelancer archive article
Midwest physicians in a run for their lives
(Published Tuesday, March 21, 2006)
By Eric Williams/Midwest Freelancer
Whether or not Dr. Jack Uhrig or Dr. Tim Ryan have taken the phrase “running for their lives” literally or not, may be up for debate, but one thing is certain- the accomplished physicians, who both specialize in internal medicine at Missouri Valley Physicians in Marshall, Missouri, are physical fitness enthusiasts who routinely compete in Midwest-area road races and other long distance running events in the Midwest.
In Uhrig’s case, he is one of the top runners in the country in his age group and has qualified for national senior events on an annual basis the last few years.
In an exclusive interview, both doctors shared their thoughts on their passion for long-distance running.
Uhrig, who has been practicing medicine at Missouri Valley since 1983, said that although he began running at an early age, the majority of his accomplishments have come as he’s gotten older.
“Most of my accomplishments in running have come in the last three of four years. As I’ve gotten older, I think some of my competition has gotten not aged as well as I have or kept up with their exercise because of other reasons or health reasons or have not made it a priority,” Uhrig said. “I’ve also improved my training. As a result of that, in all of the regional area races in the Kansas City area and statewide, in my age group, I finished in the top three in all of the 10 races I did in 2005.”
Ryan, 44, explained the duo’s running routine and his initial involvement with running.
“We try to run at least four or five days a week. We run 3-6 miles a day and we also swim together,” Ryan said. “I participated in athletics in high school and in college. Unlike Jack, I got to be about 250 pounds. When I came here, I started working out with Jack. I really got bit hard with the (running) bug and for about four or five years, we hammered it. We were doing about 20 miles on the weekends and did the Mid-America Marathon in Columbia one year.”
Some of Uhrig’s 2005 highlights include winning three gold medals and three silver medals at the Senior Games for the state of Missouri and four gold medals at the Show-Me-State Games and a time in the 1,500 meters that was the15th fastest time in the nation in his age group.
“I started running in grade school when they had the Junior Olympics. I ran track in junior high and high school and when I went to medical school I took up running. It was the 70s and running was very popular then,” Uhrig said. “What put me over the top was when I moved to Oregon for my residency in internal medicine. That was in the early 80s and Nike was there. I always joked that it was a state law in Oregon that you had to run three miles a day.”
Uhrig, who competes in the 50-54 year-old age group, then told a funny tale about his early running experiences and shared some of his plans for 2006.
“I got to running 8 to 10 miles a day and ran a lot of races back then. I was pretty fast back then but I never won anything because everyone else was very good,” he said, laughing. “I started running competitively about five years ago and I’ve been able to move up in my age group and as I’ve moved up in my age group, I’ve been even more competitive. As a matter of fact, I’m looking to knock off the top one or two in a 10K road race we have coming up in ‘The Cave’ in Kansas City.”
Eric Williams is a columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun who is syndicated by publications all over the country. Contact Eric at eklass66@yahoo.com.
By Eric Williams/Midwest Freelancer
Whether or not Dr. Jack Uhrig or Dr. Tim Ryan have taken the phrase “running for their lives” literally or not, may be up for debate, but one thing is certain- the accomplished physicians, who both specialize in internal medicine at Missouri Valley Physicians in Marshall, Missouri, are physical fitness enthusiasts who routinely compete in Midwest-area road races and other long distance running events in the Midwest.
In Uhrig’s case, he is one of the top runners in the country in his age group and has qualified for national senior events on an annual basis the last few years.
In an exclusive interview, both doctors shared their thoughts on their passion for long-distance running.
Uhrig, who has been practicing medicine at Missouri Valley since 1983, said that although he began running at an early age, the majority of his accomplishments have come as he’s gotten older.
“Most of my accomplishments in running have come in the last three of four years. As I’ve gotten older, I think some of my competition has gotten not aged as well as I have or kept up with their exercise because of other reasons or health reasons or have not made it a priority,” Uhrig said. “I’ve also improved my training. As a result of that, in all of the regional area races in the Kansas City area and statewide, in my age group, I finished in the top three in all of the 10 races I did in 2005.”
Ryan, 44, explained the duo’s running routine and his initial involvement with running.
“We try to run at least four or five days a week. We run 3-6 miles a day and we also swim together,” Ryan said. “I participated in athletics in high school and in college. Unlike Jack, I got to be about 250 pounds. When I came here, I started working out with Jack. I really got bit hard with the (running) bug and for about four or five years, we hammered it. We were doing about 20 miles on the weekends and did the Mid-America Marathon in Columbia one year.”
Some of Uhrig’s 2005 highlights include winning three gold medals and three silver medals at the Senior Games for the state of Missouri and four gold medals at the Show-Me-State Games and a time in the 1,500 meters that was the15th fastest time in the nation in his age group.
“I started running in grade school when they had the Junior Olympics. I ran track in junior high and high school and when I went to medical school I took up running. It was the 70s and running was very popular then,” Uhrig said. “What put me over the top was when I moved to Oregon for my residency in internal medicine. That was in the early 80s and Nike was there. I always joked that it was a state law in Oregon that you had to run three miles a day.”
Uhrig, who competes in the 50-54 year-old age group, then told a funny tale about his early running experiences and shared some of his plans for 2006.
“I got to running 8 to 10 miles a day and ran a lot of races back then. I was pretty fast back then but I never won anything because everyone else was very good,” he said, laughing. “I started running competitively about five years ago and I’ve been able to move up in my age group and as I’ve moved up in my age group, I’ve been even more competitive. As a matter of fact, I’m looking to knock off the top one or two in a 10K road race we have coming up in ‘The Cave’ in Kansas City.”
Eric Williams is a columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun who is syndicated by publications all over the country. Contact Eric at eklass66@yahoo.com.