Sewickley's Joseph Maroon takes 2nd in triathlon at National Senior Games

Dr. Joseph Maroon doesn’t just walk the walk and talk the talk.

The UMPC neurosurgeon, who recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, has been a triathlete for most of his life and a proponent of a healthy lifestyle.

He’s a staunch advocate of the “sound body, sound mind” way of life that promotes optimal health and peak performance.

And he adheres to this lifestyle through diet, physical fitness, avoidance of environmental toxins, stress control and adequate sleep.

“I have completed eight Ironman distance triathlons (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) and run five world triathlon championship races in Kona, Hawaii,” Maroon said. “The reason I do the races is I’m very cognizant of the mind-body connection: How the mind can make the body sick (heart attacks, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome), but more importantly how the body can heal the mind.

“Aerobic activity is the very best antidepressant and anti-anxiety.”

Maroon is known worldwide for his work on studying concussions and concussion prevention, as well as his hypothesis on the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The Sewickley resident recently corralled second place in his age division in the triathlon event at the National Senior Games, formerly known as the National Senior Olympics, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

More than 12,000 men and women ages 50 years and older participated in 21 sports at the NSG, reputed to be the largest multi-sport event in the world for senior adults. The basic purpose of the games is to promote health and wellness for senior adults 50-and-over through fitness, education and sport.

The 2023 National Senior Games will take place in Pittsburgh; Maroon is planning to participate. They also were held in Pittsburgh in 2005. Maroon also attended those games.

The UPMC doctor, who has five children, has been a neurosurgeon for 39 years. He’s participated in more than 90 triathlons.

Maroon played football at Indiana University at Bloomington, coached by Phil Dickens, and was a Scholastic All-American. He held the rushing record at IU, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, until it was broken by Antwann Randel El.

Randel El later played for the Steelers from 2002-05 before signing with Washington as a free agent, then returned to the Steelers in 2010 for one final NFL season.

Maroon graduated from Indiana with a B.A. in 1962 and his M.D. in 1965.

Since then, he has seen the world.

Along with traveling to Hawaii, Maroon has competed in triathlons in Canada, New Zealand and Germany. On the “local” front, he has competed in races in Indiana, Delaware, Ohio and Florida.

Maroon was inducted into the Lou Holtz Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame for athletic accomplishments and contributions to sports medicine in 1999, along with Joe Montana, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, John Havilcheck and Phil Niekro.

“Phil, John and I grew up together in Bridgeport, Ohio,” the UPMC neurosurgeon said, “with a population of 4,300. We all did pretty well.”

Maroon also is a member of the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and National Fitness Hall of Fame in Chicago.

He served as the medical director of the Life Free African Freedom tour in 2014. In that capacity, Maroon, along with his daughter Isabella and a group of amputees, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

He has served as a neurosurgical consultant for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 35 years and was the first neurosurgeon directly appointed in the NFL. He is professor and vice chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UPMC, and is the current medical director of the WWE.

Maroon has addressed various health topics in more than 700 interviews on local, national and satellite TV, radio shows and podcasts. He is quoted frequently as an expert source by national media, including the New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, ABC News Nightline, Consumer Report, NewsMax, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Outside Magazine.

And as if he has any spare time, Maroon also is an author. He has had seven books published.

“The last was ‘Square One: A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life,’ in which I detail the strategies for longevity and how to die young … as late as possible,” he said. “Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent, said ‘This book already has changed my life.’”

To purchase a book, go to josephmaroon.com.