The Last Across the Finish Line: Dr. Tony Kovatch on Legacy, Healing & What Really Matters
- Author
- Sherry Ehrin
- Published
- Tue 08 Jul 2025
- Episode Link
- None
Dr. Tony Kovatch, known as "Slow Tony" after being the last to cross the finish line at the 2025 Pittsburgh Marathon, shares insights from his 40+ years as a pediatrician and his philosophy on living a meaningful life shaped by personal struggles and professional triumphs.
• Early exposure to his mother's battle with Huntington's disease influenced his decision to become a doctor
• Viktor Frankl's logotherapy provided a framework for finding meaning in suffering throughout his life
• The importance of treating doctors as humans, not expecting superhuman perfection
• How obsessive-compulsive personality traits can be channeled positively
• Pediatricians need to focus on the "little things" that patients remember—returning calls, showing kindness
• Parenting advice: use positive reinforcement abundantly and recognize your words become children's inner voices
• Running as both physical discipline and spiritual practice, even when finishing last
• The metaphor of marathon running: "Your times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged"
• Finding meaning in retirement
Never stop doing good for goodness' sake alone, without expecting any return on your investment of kindness.
Dr. Kovatch writes on Medium-
https://medium.com/@kovatcha42/stopping-the-hemorrhage-a-warm-well-lighted-place-b8e8ce27cbd4
"Out of the Old Black Bag" by Dr. Anthony Kovatch
https://issuu.com/ssmsdept/docs/bulletin_22.sept_final/s/16962787
https://www.facebook.com/tony.kovatch.12
WPXI News Article Pittsburgh Marathon
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://amzn.to/4lIiYbK (paid link)
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