NAME: Ryszard (Richard) Kagan
AGE: 52 years
NUMBER OF YEARS EMPLOYED WITH COMPANY: 20
CURRENT POSITION WITH COMPANY: Team Leader at Etobicoke Casting Plant
FAVOURITE COMPANY VEHICLE: Jeep Cherokee


Richard is happily married with two daughters. Richard leads a healthy lifestyle and eats a variety of fruit and vegetables and fish. On the weekends, he makes fruit juice for his family. His favourite recipe is easy to make: mix plain yogurt with blueberries, oats, and maple syrup; if he’s feeling adventurous, he’ll add a variety of fruit and/or nuts to this recipe.

Richard was active as a young adult and then “life kicked in.” Richard re-committed himself to a healthy lifestyle after seeing a photograph of himself while on vacation in Punta Cana in 2003. He believes, “This is your life. You only have one. You can make it your way.” Taking his advice to heart, Richard joined a fitness club where he lifted weights and ran on the treadmill. However, Richard missed his true passion: long distance running. From then on, he focused on running and set a goal to run the Boston Marathon (42.2 km or 26 miles) one day. In the meantime, Richard participated in local charity marathon runs, in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, and Montreal. He trains by running five to six times a week.

Richard enjoys travelling and visiting many parts of the world; he plans to run in every country he visits. Richard says, “The places I’ve been look so different [when running] compared to when I’m in a car.” His plan is to compete in the five World Marathon Majors (WMM) which are held in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, and London. So far, he has run the WMM in New York City. Whenever possible, Richard turns these races into family trips. His family is a great support to him: his youngest daughter runs with him sometimes and his wife and eldest daughter cheer him on at the races.

Richard’s hard work and goal setting secured him a spot in the 2011 Boston Marathon, on Monday, April 18, 2011. His goal is to run the race in less than three hours and 20 minutes. That’s no small feat!! As Richard says, “Running makes your life more interesting. You need to have a passion in your lifetime.”

Richard is supportive of the Working Toward Wellness program. When he gets his Health Issues Magazine, he reads it and then talks to people about being healthy.

Good luck to you, Richard, as you strive to achieve your goal! Stay tuned for the next Health Issues Magazine when we follow-up with Richard to see how he did.

For more information on the Boston Marathon, visit http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon.aspx