It was a beautiful crisp day for the Dallas marathon run near downtown this year. The Dallas BMW Marathon is quite a challenge but Pate fielded a relay team of fourteen staff members for the marathon and eight more staff members for the half marathon. (Yes, they finished!)
The Dallas marathon relay team is composed of five members who each run a leg completing the full marathon; a total of 26.2 miles. The legs ranged from 3.5 miles to 7 miles. We had three teams of five, so 15 members of relay teams total (Clinical Director David Salisbury’s wife was a member, too).
One of the highlights of the half marathon is the push relay. Pate staff take turns pushing a very special patient all the way to the finish line. Joe lives with us long term and is a former runner himself. He loves taking part in the race and providing plenty of encouraging cowbell to other runners.
Why push a wheelchair on your own time? Pate’s Dallas marathon runners are dedicated people. They’re also in pretty good shape and love a challenge. We’ve been participating in the Dallas Marathon as a company since 2009 and have had over 20 relay teams with staff, patients, and family members, and multiple half and full marathoners participate.
Pate emphasizes wellness for patients going through rehabilitation. As a healthcare company, Pate also promotes healthy habits for employees. Staff can join a year long program to earn wellness “points” they can use for various benefits. All sorts of things count for points…joining a gym, preventive health care appointments, huffing through our annual Walk-a-thon, taking in-house classes and other healthy activities all count for a point. Even wearable health devices count. It’s a fun program of encouragement that clearly contributes to some super healthy runners.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and Pate’s runners are fitness models for the entire company. Congratulations to everyone who came out for both races! (Special thanks goes to several husbands of staffers who pitched in as wheelchair pushers along the way.)
If you’re interested in joining Pate (whether a marathoner or not), take a look at our job listings page. It’s a fun, inspiring place to work.