My business would be nonexistent if people would do the right things, Len said.

Len takes exercise to the extreme, waking at 3:45 a.m. every day so he can get in a 15-mile run and make it into the operating room by 7:30.

I go to bed at 8:30 (at night), before my kids do, Len said.

Dr. Luis Leon poses with Moab 240s medical director, Brian Wilford. The Moab 240 was Leons 5th ultra race. Hes planning on another in the spring.

Growing up in Peru, Len played soccer from Monday to Monday, day and night. Soccer was his life until he left Peru in 1997 to attend UCLA for his surgical residency.

New to Los Angeles and with his life consumed by the hospital, Len realized he wouldnt have time for team sports. He started looking for individual sports, settling on triathlons. But after a few years, he no longer had time to train for the cycling and swimming components.

That was when Len found marathons. When those didnt seem like enough, he entered longer races, with courses up to 100 miles. In 2010, Len ran his first race longer than 100 miles. The Moab 240 was his fourth race of 200 miles or more.

Training for races of that distance is much different than training for marathons, in part because the mental component is so important.

When you put yourself in this event, the first night of the first day, you have to know that theres three more days and nights coming ahead of you that you have to run on blistered feet, Len said.

See the article here:
Tucson doctor tackles 240-mile ultra race to spread message about the benefits of healthy living - Arizona Daily Star