Dr. Gaughan is a competitive runner and has been one for almost 40 years. He was the former team captain of the three time national champion Millrose Racing Team of the 1980s (5K, 15K and 20K).  In his forties he was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis where the cartilage in one hip totally wore out leaving bone grinding on bone. All the specialists he consulted told him he would never run again. Eventually, about 6 years ago, he had a totally hip replacement. Again he was warned never to run again and to be happy going for a walk and riding a bike.

Several years ago Dr. Gaughan returned to running with a self-developed training program that tries to accomplish more on relatively lower running mileage and combines running with other forms of cross training such as hard spinning and weight training. He tries to run intensively when he does run while seeking to eliminate the “junk miles.” He also has to do much specific muscle and flexibility work to deal with the problem of trying to run on two physically very different hips, hips that do not work in combination like two natural hips.

This work has paid off and Dr. Gaughan has again become a competitive runner. Now at age 56  he finishes in the top 5-10 overall in many local races and regularly comes in first in his age group. Recent place finishes include 7th overall in the 2,500 runner field at the Celebrity 5K in Miami, 2nd overall in the Closter 5K and 3rd overall in the Woodcliff Lake 5K.

This year Dr. Gaughan  competed in the National Masters 5K Championships in Syracuse, New York and won a medal coming in 3rd in his age group. As far as we know he is probably the first runner to compete and win a medal in a national championship running on an artificial hip.