I was the first Running/Walking Therapist trained by Dr. Tad Kostrubala, author of The Joy of Running. Instead of sitting with patients, we walked and ran together. It was $50/hour cheaper and offered a unique way to connect.

We launched the San Diego Marathon Clinic to help those with mental health challenges reintegrate into the community. Walking and running with others training for marathons—or shorter distances—proved to be the best approach. Magic happens when you share miles and conversations over weeks and months.

Life is the real marathon.

As a Vistage Chair, I taught my members that business is a performance art—you need to be physically fit to lead. This role allowed me to spend 22 years, 4-8 hours a week, teaching Cardiac Rehab classes and doing group sessions. I began at Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine with Dr. Mimi Guarneri and continued at UCSD Cardiac Rehab with Dr. Pam Rajendran Taub.

Many executives and others in the programs didn’t realize the toll stress, lack of sleep, poor diet, and inactivity take on the heart.

Dr. George Sheehan, known as the "Mark Twain in Running Sneakers," believed running was a way of life, not just exercise. He said: "We are called to be heroes, saints, philosophers, poets, and artists, but first and foremost, be a good animal." Watch how children learn to walk.

Years of experience taught me that a childhood fear of falling forward can stay locked in the adult body, leading to dangerous falls later in life.

My mission became clear: help people from dying or suffering life-changing injuries from preventable falls.