Manhattan Oral Surgeon Races Across the Finish Line

Manhattan Oral Surgeon Races Across the Finish Line

Dr Gregory Shank tests his mettle in New York City Marathon

When Gregory Shank, D.D.S., completed his dental residency, he turned his attention to his physical well-being.

“Like most people in residency, I did not have time to exercise and didn’t really prioritize my health. When I moved back to New York from D.C., I joined a running club called Brooklyn Track Club and got back into shape.”

That the young oral surgeon chose running as his ticket back to health is not surprising. The Long Island native was captain of the Chaminade High School cross country and track and field teams. Now, with dental school (Stony Brook University) and postgraduate training (Medstar Washington

Hospital Center) behind him, he determined to achieve a personal goal: to run in the New York City Marathon.

Training for the marathon constituted a “part-time job,” he said. “I ran about 60 miles a week for three months. I had to fit in my daily runs whenever I could, even if that meant run commuting.”

Sunday, Nov. 6, the day of race, he was ready for what would be only the second marathon he had attempted. What he couldn’t have anticipated were temperatures approaching the mid-70s, making the 2022 marathon the warmest on record. Nevertheless, he crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 24 seconds, much better than the average finishing time that day of over four hours. It was an impressive finish, but not quite good enough to qualify him for what he hoped would be a shot at the Boston Marathon.

Shank has his sights set now on the Big Sur Marathon in California in late April, a run along the Pacific Coast Highway, from Big Sur to Carmel, thought to be one of the hilliest routes in the United States. And he plans to take another shot at qualifying for Boston at some point. “This might turn into an annual tradition,” he said.

When not running, Shank is at work, on staff at Tribeca Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Manhattan. He is the son of two dentists: mother, Joan, is retired; father, Duane, is engaged in practice at Smithtown Orthodontics.

An early advocate of organized dentistry, Shank was heavily involved in the American Student Dental Association, serving as district trustee, representing the students of New York and New Jersey at the national level. A member of the New York County Dental Society, he is currently serving as the New Dentist Representative on the NYSDA Council on Peer Review and Quality Assurance.

Gregory Shank is all smiles after his successful completion of New York City Marathon.