Upstate Medical University‘s Lee Berube was the fastest man to finish the 3 1/2-mile J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge race this June at Onondaga Lake Park. Berube finished in 17 minutes, 36 seconds.

Berube, 25, of Syracuse is a doctor of physical therapy who has been running since he was 6 years old. “I really do love it,” he says of running, which is like a hobby for him now. He rises at 5 a.m. to run five or six days a week, and he does speed work with the Syracuse Track Club every week.

Upstate co-worker Cara Lavier wasn‘t far behind Berube, with a time of 22 minutes, 17 seconds. She was the fourth woman to cross the finish line.

Lavier, 37, of Chittenango is a registered nurse who began running at about the age of 9 with her father. In 2014 she was part of a four-person team from Upstate that traveled to London to compete in the Corporate Challenge championship race.

This article appears in the fall 2016 issue of Upstate Health magazine.