From Meniscus Root Repair to Boston!

~ A Four Year Journey ~

In April of 2020, shortly after turning 50 years old, I would be running my first Boston Marathon, and 3rd marathon overall. Just a few weeks before the big day, after 3.5 months of training, hundreds of miles and much anticipation, the world shut down due to COVID. And so too was the Boston Marathon. Not knowing what the pandemic would become, the BAA postponed the marathon until the fall of 2020. This meant more training to sustain my mileage. And more miles. And more anticipation. What I didn't know was far worse.

After months of additional training, shortly after the BAA canceled the marathon outright, I went out for a leisurely run. And something in my knee didn't feel right. I tested and re-tested it several times over the next couple of months. And it wasn't right. Rest, weight training, massage, ice, heat, etc. Nothing worked. Finally, I got an MRI. And learned that my lateral meniscus detached at its insertion point. My only option was surgery. A lateral meniscus root repair. Two holes in the tibia. Two screws. 4 weeks on crutches. 60 visits of physical therapy over the course of 10 months. And I still couldn't run pain-free. At this point, I resigned myself to no longer running. I shared this outcome with others. It was then that I was introduced to Renee Hodges.

What Renee helped me do is nothing short of remarkable. She tested strength. She tested muscle size. She compared good leg to bad leg. And she set me on a course towards equalizing the strength of my two legs. She told me things I didn't want to hear, e.g. "you may not run for six months". She delivered bad news when we first tested my running gait, i.e. "Professionally, I cannot ethically allow you to resume running". After these visits, I was dispirited, depressed and angry. I was angry at the world. I was angry at Renee. I was angry at my surgeon. I was angry at my previous physical therapist. But none of my anger mattered. When I waded through my emotions, and got to the "future-looking" perspective, one thing resonated. Renee said "I will not quit on you". So, I went back to work. I did everything she told me to do. I found solace in the process, trusting that if I executed the process, the outcome would be something I could live with. I knew that if I gave it my all, I would live with the outcome. Even if the outcome included no more running.

On April 15, 2024, I ran the Boston Marathon in 4:08. It was an unseasonably hot day. And my time, as well as the time of the overwhelming majority of runners, was impacted. However, I finished. I finished pain-free. I ran 26.2 miles MORE than I could when I met Renee. She will remain humble and say that I did this. But I will say it for her. There is no way on hell that I would have been able to accomplish what I did if it wasn't for her help, her wisdom and her faith in me. I didn't want to let her down. She believed in me, and she helped me believe in myself.

I wholeheartedly endorse Renee as the best running coach, physical therapist and believer in her clients. I owe so much of what I accomplished to her.