Sheehan, George

▪ 1994

      U.S. physician, author, and running enthusiast (b. Nov. 5, 1918, Brooklyn, N.Y.—d. Nov. 1, 1993, Ocean Grove, N.J.), fueled the recreational running movement in the 1970s with a best-selling book, Running and Being (1978), which anointed him as the inspirational guru of runners. Sheehan's philosophy expounded on the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits of running. While practicing medicine as a Red Bank, N.J., cardiologist, Sheehan broke his right hand when he punched a wall in a fit of temper after being unnecessarily awakened by a patient. Unable to continue playing tennis, which had been his favourite sport, the former Manhattan College outstanding miler at age 44 began pounding the pavement in lieu of lunch and in the process launched a running phenomenon. In 1969 Sheehan became the first man over the age of 50 to run the Boston Marathon in less than five hours, but he clocked his fastest marathon at the age of 61. Sheehan, a charismatic speaker who liberally quoted from the great philosophers to support his cause, gave up his medical practice in 1984 to devote himself full-time to speaking, writing, and running. He was also medical editor of Runner's World magazine and the author of This Running Life (1980), How to Feel Great 24 Hours a Day (1983), and Personal Best (1989). At the time of his death from prostate cancer, Sheehan was in the process of recording his feelings and experiences related to dying.

* * *