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

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/tony.kovatch.12

WPXI News Article Pittsburgh Marathon

https://www.facebook.com/wpxi/posts/anthony-kovatch-73-a-retired-pediatrician-from-the-north-hills-proudly-finished-/1083758973788232/

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://amzn.to/4lIiYbK (paid link)

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