March 2007 | Vol. 25, No. 3

SVU Member Dr. Russell Becker Runs in Chicago Marathon on VDF Team

As reported in the winter 2007 issue of the Keeping In Circulation newsletter of the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF), on October 22, 2006 the 29th annual LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon took place with the VDF, of which SVU is a member, providing a Team of 26 runners from all over the country for the first time. According to the VDF, its “Team VDF” was the first group of individuals to run in a marathon and raise more than $14,080 for vascular disease education.

SVU member Russell Becker, D.O., who ran on Team VDF, said the Chicago Marathon was his fourth marathon and he ran a personal best time of 3:32:45 for the 26.2 miles. He said he has been running since high school, but only started running long distances until his surgical residency to relieve stress. Dr. Becker completed his vascular fellowship at Wayne State University in 2004 and then joined Michigan Vascular, a group practice of 9 vascular surgeons in Flint, MI. He met his wife, who also is a D.O., in medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. They have two kids, Andrew (4) and Olivia (3) with their third child due in April. (Race photo courtesy of MarathonFoto.)

Sheryl Benjamin, VDF Executive Director, said, “Of greatest help getting runners for the VDF Team were our member organizations, all of which announced the program to their members. We are thrilled that these runners were the first group ever to join efforts to raise awareness about vascular disease.”

Other SVU members who would like to be a part of Team VDF in this year’s LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on October 7, 2007 should contact Christa Saracco, VDF Communications Manager, at christa.saracco@vdf.org or 888-VDF-4INFO. You also can visit VDF online at www.vdf.org for race details. Race registration has started already for the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. Congratulations to all of the members of the 2006 Team VDF!