Local dentist is marathon man

By COURTNEY DENEN

cdenen@vindy.com

Local orthodontist Stephen Begezda recently completed the Tuscon Arizona Marathon in a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes which once again qualifies him for the Boston Marathon in April.

Over the years, Begezda, who resides in Poland, has collected “a lot” of race shirts from all the marathons he has participated in. He has been running since high school and said it’s a great way to relieve stress. It gives him the opportunity to organize his thoughts and just think.

Four years ago, he clocked his personal best time of 3 hours, 29 minutes in the Tuscan Marathon. Begezda runs a few races every year, including 5Ks, half marathons like the Road Runner District Classic, the Canfield Firecracker 4 race, and almost every Peace Race.

Currently, he is preparing for the Disney Princess Marathon in March in Orlando.

Not much can stop him from running. He runs all year long, through any weather. He prefers the temperature to be in the low 50s in order to run the long distance, but he has run in negative 5 degree weather before.

His passion for running is obvious and he is grateful for the support of his family.

“I’m appreciative that my wife is so supportive of my running,” Begezda said.

He always wonders what would have happened if he would have pursued running more seriously when he was younger.

However, this year he qualified for the Boston Marathon again. This is not a marathon that just anyone can run. It is a necessity to qualify and in 2006 he qualified and ran in that marathon.

He has yet to decide if he will run in Boston this April or wait until next year to participate in the Boston Marathon.