Procedure allows Bentonvill...

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BENTONVILLE — John Hill has run several Boston Marathons over the years, but crossing the finish line in 2006 was anything but pleasant.

Hill, a Bentonville resident for more than a decade and an executive with Nestle in Rogers, was accustomed to tackling the 26. 22-mile marathon in Beantown in as little as three hours, 27 minutes. But on April 17, 2006, Hill’s time skyrocketed to just shy of six hours. And he was in excruciating pain on top of that.

“ The only way I even made it to the finish line was to stop every so often and put more ice in my shorts, ” Hill recalls. “ I knew the end was near. It was going to be over for me. I wasn’t going to be able to run anymore. ”

Once a confident long-distance runner, Hill had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis prior to legging out the 2006 Boston Marathon. And at 44 years old, the condition had nothing to do with age. Instead, an extra piece of bone on Hill’s hip was rubbing against cartilage in the right joint of his hip, causing the protective material to deteriorate at a much more rapid rate than usual. The only surgical procedure being prescribed was total hip replacement — and that would mean giving up running altogether.

While attempting to stomach the fact that part of his life would soon be erased, Hill stumbled upon a story about a new surgical procedure called hip resurfacing. The procedure was so new, in fact, that it was not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, few had been performed in the United States, and the majority of insurance companies were not covering the procedure. Still, a glimmer of hope was ignited that has led to Hill holding on to the life he has always known.

On April 21, Hill, now 46, will be among the more than 20, 000 runners from across the country competing in the Boston Marathon. More importantly, Hill, who underwent the hip-resurfacing procedure 14 short months ago, expects to run the world’s oldest and most popular marathon pain-free, and even has his eye on finishing in under four hours.

“ If I think about it too much, I get overcome with emotion, ” Hill said. “ A year ago, none of this would have been possible. It wasn’t even imaginable. When you get a second chance at life like I have, you can’t help but feel humbled. I had already been told to start developing my exit plan from running. And in a few weeks, I’ll be doing the Boston Marathon. ”

The hip-resurfacing procedure, performed on Hill by Dr. Robert Barrack in St. Louis on Jan. 23, 2007, has been practiced in Europe for several years but has just recently started to gain acceptance in the United States. Rather than removing the entire hip, the resurfacing procedure introduces a special metal into the hip joint where the cartilage once was. As a result, bone-on-bone contact, which causes arthritis, pain and disability, is replaced by metal on metal.

The realization that he would not have to lose his hip meant Hill could continue to run marathons. But, more importantly, he would remain the father and husband he had been to that point in his life.

“ I coach my 6-year-old daughter (Mary Lou’s ) softball team, and there was a time when I was having trouble getting from one end of the field to the other, let alone running, ” Hill explained. “ I have a 9-year-old daughter (Sophie ) and an 11-year-old son (Brody ) that run AAU. I’ve always been right there, running with them. I enjoy being involved. My family is a priority. When my doctor performed the surgery, that was the thing I told him. I said, ‘ Now I can play with my kids. ’ ”

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