John Arsen is known to most of the patients at his Lake Orion practice as doctor, but the Orion resident is also a world class athlete, having recently finished running the Boston Marathon.
Arsen, who is podiatrist, ran his first marathon in Chicago last year, because he said most of his patients know he is a runner, and would ask if he ran in marathons.
‘A lot of my practice is sports medicine,? he said ‘I got tired of answering no, so I ran in Chicago one year ago and finished in three hours, 21 minutes and eighteen seconds.?
That time was enough to qualify him to run in the Boston Marathon, for which runners must finish in the top ten percent of other sanctioned marathons (such as Chicago, Detroit, New York, etc.) to qualify.
Arsen’s younger sister Karen is also a runner, and ran in the Boston Marathon in 1994 and 1995. This year was Arsen’s first time running in Boston.
The race was April 18, starts in the small Massachusetts town of Hopkinson, and continues 26.2 miles to downtown Boston.
‘It’s a straight, hilly course,? Arsen said. ‘It’s the same route Paul Revere road…and this is the Boston Marathon’s 109th year.?
Arsen finished the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 21 minutes and nine seconds.
‘It was faster than I expected,? he said.
The top men’s finisher, Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia, finished in two hours, 11 minutes and 45 seconds.
‘There are a lot of Asians, Africans and European runners that come to Boston,? said Arsen. ‘The Kenyans have won it for the last few years.?
‘Over a million people come to watch,? he said. ‘At the end you can hardly stand up. You are physically and emotionally spent.
‘The last four miles, there were people passed out all over the place. They just couldn’t even finish,? Arsen said.
Arsen began running in junior high and continued in high school, joining the track and cross country teams at Waterford Kettering.
Arsen has three children: Daughter Amy, 13, also an avid runner; Scott, 16; and Brian, 14.
Scott and Brian have both been on the Lake Orion High School ski team, which Arsen helps coach. Brian is also on the tennis team.
Arsen runs with an informal running group in Rochester, and said he knew six of the other runners in the Boston Marathon from that group.
‘I wanted to beat their times, and I did,? he said ‘When you run in Chicago, it’s a flat and fast course. When I was running there, I knew I wanted to qualify for Boston.
‘You needed to finish in three hours, 30 minutes to qualify for Boston, so that was my goal,? he said.
To train for marathons, Arsen runs 6-7 days a week, increases his distances each week. He competes in a lot of triathlons to keep himself in top shape.
‘I cross train, and do mountain and road biking,? he said. ‘During the week, I run six miles a day, then longer on the weekends, moving up each week until I reach the marathon distance.?
Arsen said he has automatically qualified to run Boston again next year, and will run in the Traverse City Marathon in three weeks.
‘If someone has run the Boston Marathon, you know they’re a good runner,? he said. ‘I’ve never seen so many phenomenal athletes in one place at one time, from all over the world.?
Arsen had his own group cheering him on in Boston, including friends from his running group and his mom and dad.
‘I’m going to run the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in October,? he said. ‘I do want to do the Boston again…but I wouldn’t want to have to do it again this year.?