Valley doctor becomes part of Marathon Grand Slam Club

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Small steps turned into large strides.

Having a steadfast lifestyle, promoting wellness for my patients and having fun, you request that too," says Dr. Huiwen Hao, a psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente.

It was during the Two Cities Marathon successful 2016 that Dr. Hao finished her archetypal marathon astatine the property of 51.

"When Kaiser sponsored america successful 2016 with Fleet Feet, and they person this coaching program," she said. "I signed up without knowing what I was getting into."

Sometimes it wasn't ever casual to enactment connected track.

Support from her manager and friends helped her propulsion through, and erstwhile she made it to the decorativeness --

"It was a euphoric benignant of feeling," she said. "You get truthful excited."

It was each the much rewarding.

That inspired her to pursuit aft much marathons.

Just 1 week aft finishing her archetypal race, she was already onto the next.

"Several of our friends, we signed up for the Monterey Half Marathon the adjacent week," Dr. Hao said. "We consulted with the coach, and helium said, 'Yeah, you did the training, truthful you're ready. You tin bash the adjacent one.''

Over the years, Dr. Hao has checked disconnected the six large marathons successful the world, including the Boston and New York marathons.

She's adjacent tally 7 marathons connected 7 antithetic continents.

Just this year, she adjacent finished a marathon astatine the North Pole, making her portion of The Marathon Grand Slam Club.

"We took the cruise there, and it was rather the adventure," Dr. Hao said.

Dr. Hao plans to tally successful this weekend's Two Cities Marathon.

She encourages anyone who is starting their ain moving travel to spell astatine their ain gait and instrumentality it 1 measurement astatine a time.

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