Our entire team at Coastal Race works really hard to put on events for you to enjoy but we also try to stay focused on our own goals too! Our March athlete of the month may seem very familiar to many of you and at any one of our events you will find him managing our finish line, making sure you get the correct medal and a smooth transition to the fun after party. When he isn’t working a Coastal Race event he’s busy chasing down his own goals one PR at a time. Meet our March Athlete of the Month – Terry Terragna.
As a young boy Terry was diagnosed with Leg Perthes Disease which is a rare condition that affects the ball-shaped head of the thighbone. He spent several years on crutches and in and out of hospitals. He was made aware at a young age that he would eventually need a total hip replacement but doctors urged him to hold off as long as possible to avoid having to have multiple replacements.
Terry did not start running until later in life but he developed a love for it and at the same time it was incredibly hard on his already bad hip. A few years ago Terry reached the point where he could no longer ignore the pain and visited a PA for a consultation on what to expect with surgery. That first visit was such a hard blow as he was told he would never run again.Completely discouraged he decided to put it off and do some of his own research. He found a few groups online that were all about “hip” runners, so while it isn’t recommended to run after hip replacement, people were doing it. This gave him a new found hope and he decided to visit Dr Marushack with Emerge Ortho for a second opinion. Dr Marushack confirmed that while it isn’t recommend to run after hip replacement surgery he also agreed there isn’t much research surrounding it. As a runner himself, he agreed that if Terry got 9 good years on the hip doing something he enjoyed rather than 10 without, it would be worth it. Terry had a trip planned for that summer and decided to schedule the surgery for later that fall. While on vacation he ran the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon and during the race the pain became so unbearable that he called to move the surgery up and the Doctor was not surprised at all saying it was the worst hip he had ever seen.
Surgery went well and Terry put in all the PT knowing strength would be his best companion to a comeback. Just 7 weeks post surgery he crossed the finish line to his first of many post hip half marathons and over the last 2 years he has continued to improve. Achieving one PR after another in all different distances from 5K’s and including two full marathons. Terry has had his eye on the clock and as he continued training he set his sights on a sub 2:00 half marathon. He continued to put in the work getting both stronger and faster and after a successful training cycle Terry Terragna officially joined the Sub 2 Club earlier this month with a time of 1:58:41. Terry is proof, if theres a will there is a way and hard work definitely pays off!
Keep Moving Forward!