Front & Center: P.Z. Pearce is the fix-it man for athletes

How’s this for an “Aha!” moment?

Patrick Zim Pearce – a.k.a. “P.Z.” – a self-described mediocre high school student, was attending the University of Hawaii when, one day while enjoying a Primo beer on his lanai, he had an epiphany:

“I should attend medical school,” he thought.

And he was right.

Since graduating from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Pearce has worked with the Seattle Seahawks, Spokane Chiefs and Olympic athletes, and served as Bloomsday’s medical director and assistant medical director of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

In addition to founding Champions Sports Medicine in Spokane, he is a UW associate professor for clinical medicine and national medical director for the Rock ’N’ Roll Marathon Series.

During a recent interview, Pearce discussed mentors, answering machines and how to approach Bloomsday.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Pearce: Really all over the place, but I consider Seattle my home.

S-R: What were your interests back then?

Pearce: Mechanical stuff. I destroyed virtually everything in our house taking it apart to figure out how it worked.

S-R: Did you have a favorite high-school class?

Pearce: Not really. I spent some of my childhood in England, where schools are very difficult. When I came back to the states in fifth grade, I was functioning at the high-school level. So I basically coasted through the rest of school, did very poorly and almost flunked out. They said I should be a welder or go into agriculture.

S-R: Did you participate in high school sports?

Pearce: I played soccer, and went on to play for the University of Hawaii and one year professionally for the Seattle Sounders in the old North American Soccer League.

S-R: What did you study at the University of Hawaii?

Pearce: Oceanography. But I had been a firefighter and paramedic in Seattle prior to that, and one day during my senior year, while drinking a beer, I thought, “I should go to medical school.” So I got on my bike and rode up to the campus, because there was no Internet, got the catalog out and realized I had all the prerequisites. I just had to take a test. I took the test and didn’t get in the first time, which is very common. Then I moved back to Seattle and took another year at the University of Washington, earned a second degree and passed the test.

S-R: What was your specialty?

Pearce: I did my residency in family practice, but I’ve always been interested in sports. While I was in medical school, I worked with the team physician for both the Sounders and the SuperSonics, and knew that’s what I wanted to do.

S-R: What brought you to Spokane?

Pearce: I came here for my residency with the attitude, “I can do anything for a couple of years,” and fell in love with the place.

S-R: Why did you start Champions Sports Medicine?

Pearce: I really wanted to do a full-service sports medicine clinic, including chiropractic and physical therapy, massage therapy and a training area. This is the eighth iteration of the idea.

S-R: Medicine and business demand different skills. How did you acquire the expertise to run a business?

Pearce: I paid a lot of fines and late fees, and learned through experience.

S-R: How does one go about building a sports medicine practice?

Pearce: Because I was the team doc for the Indians and worked with the Seahawks, baseball and football players come and see me. And since I take care of the Chiefs, I see a lot of skaters.

S-R: Did you continue competing in sports after launching your medical practice?

Pearce: Yes. I’ve done nine Ironmans (consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.2-mile run), and every Bloomsday since 1983 except two.

S-R: Do you have a busiest time of year?

Pearce: We’re always busy. Industrial injuries occur every day. What changes is the type of sports injuries we treat. In winter we see ski injuries, running injuries in the spring, and in summer it’s boating, kayaking and triathlon stuff.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Pearce: I love fixing people. There’s no greater satisfaction than having someone come in who has seen three or four other docs who told them they should never run again, and to see the look on their face when I say, “We can fix this.”

S-R: What do you like least about your job?

Pearce: Dealing with the government and forms and insurance.

S-R: Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

Pearce: I wish I’d had a mentor. I could have saved a lot of money. (laugh)

S-R: Do you have a business philosophy?

Pearce: I’ll never have a machine answer our phone.

S-R: Are there common misconceptions about your business?

Pearce: Yeah. People think we only see professional athletes. We take care of anybody.

S-R: What sort of person is best suited for a career in sports medicine?

Pearce: A jack of all trades, especially if you’re going to do team sports. You have to be able to think quickly and clearly under pressure, and have a good enough ego so that you don’t succumb to pressure if a coach says, “We need this guy right away,” and it’s not in the best interest of the athlete.

S-R: Bloomsday is three weeks away. What advice would you offer someone running it for the first time?

Pearce: Number one, train – which most people don’t do for Bloomsday – if you want to have anything near a competitive time. And you need to include some hills in your training. Remember to shorten your stride when going up a hill, and don’t overstride going downhill. Overstriding and braking down Government Way to Pettit is really what wears everyone out, not Doomsday Hill.

S-R: How about advice for aspiring sub-one-hour Bloomsday runners?

Pearce: Take it easy. This is not a great race for serious runners, because it’s too hilly. That’s why a lot of professional runners skip Bloomsday. They don’t want to kill themselves if they have to race the following weekend.

S-R: Any other tips?

Pearce: Remember that the most helpful sleep is not the night before the race. It’s 48 hours before. That’s the more restorative sleep.

S-R: What attitude do your recommend approaching Bloomsday with?

Pearce: Bloomsday is not a race to try for a PR (personal record). It’s a race to have fun – it’s an experience. I used to be fast, but now when people ask, “How did you do?” I say, “I wasn’t even looking.”

S-R: What’s ahead for you professionally?

Pearce: I’m whittling away at the things I do here. My retirement job is organizing all the medical care for the Rock ’N’ Roll Marathon Series. We have 24 races in the U.S., plus two in Canada, two in Mexico and six in Europe. I was in San Francisco last weekend. This weekend I’ll be in Raleigh, North Carolina. I think we put out a great product, and I enjoy making people happy. Oddly enough, I’m never more relaxed than when I’m at my Rock ’N’ Roll races.

This interview has been condensed. If you’d like to suggest a business or community leader to profile, contact Michael Guilfoil at mguilfoil@comcast.net.