I recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with a classmate from Veterinary school. Mike Petersen is a veterinarian in Madison Wisconsin. I can tell from the time we spent together that he is a great doctor with very diverse interests. I can also tell you that he is a great runner. 

We met in Santa Barbara to run the inaugural Santa Barbara marathon. Over the previous several months we exchanged emails about our training. It was apparent that he was training to run very fast and I had no hope of keeping up with him. He ran a great time at the race and it inspires me to do better. 

Mike has a small animal veterinary practice and also serves as the veterinarian for the zoo in Madison. When I connect with classmates it is nice to catch up and learn that the years have been good for most of us. Talking about running and how we train is educational. It also serves as a reminder that you never stop improving. During the heavy travel of my AAHA presidency I started to feel like I would never run marathons for speed again. Running with Mike and doing research on running has given me new focus and hope. The other nice thing is when I spend time with classmates it serves the same purpose for my veterinary hospital. I have never stopped trying to make it better and am very thankful for our talented staff that does the same. 

Mike and I have been out of school for thirty years now and it is always a pleasure to see the vigor with which we approach our lives, jobs and the profession. Thanks Mike, it was great to see you again.