Medical man runs to and from work

Press, 26 May 1977, Page 27

Medical man runs to and from work

A prominent Canadian orthopaedic surgeon and winter sportsman, who regularly runs 10 miles to and from his home to his job as a university lecturer in Ottawa, had plenty to say in Christchurch recently in support of the recommendation given elsewhere in this issue by Mr A. S. Lewis on supplementary training both for fitness and to avoid sports injuries.

Dr Don Johnson and his wife, who both specialise in cross-country ski-ing and have snow only 20 minutes away from their Ottawa home in winter, do long-distance road running all the year round, as well as limbering and strengthening routines as assistance training for ski-ing.

Doctor Johnson, who last month completed the world-famous Boston marathon in the respectable time of 2hr 50 min, was the principal invited speaker at the recent biennial conference of the New Zealand Sports Medicine Federation here.

Throughout his lectures at the conference he emphasised the need for supplementary on and off season training as well as at a public panel discussion at the Christchurch Football Club rooms.

Doctor Johnson, like the prominent Honolulu cardiologist. Dr Jack Scaff, who also lectured in Christchurch recently, appears as among an emerging breed of medical men who advocate long distance training and do it.

About 50 docotrs ran in the last big Honolulu marathon and there were at least eight doctors, including four cardiologists, among 600 starters in last month’s marathon at Rotorua.

Doctor Johnson and Dr Scaff have wives who both run the marathon with their husbands. All four look some 10 years younger than they Tall, lean, and almost boyishly youthful in appearance at the age of 34, Dr Johnson showed while here that he believes in practicing the fitness he preaches.

Both Dr Jotmson and his wife trained every day while in Christchurch for the sports medicine conference.