Josh's bio (with picture) is at: http://209.19.157.25/healthwise/items/document/e0406.pdf

Josh Seidman

Runs for Micah House

by Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

Many noble participants of Monday's Marathon had lofty causes on their mind, and Brookline native Josh Seidman was no exception. Taking time from his duties as Executive Director at Washington, D.C.'s Center for Information Therapy, a division of Healthwise, and from finishing a doctoral program at The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, he blew into town for his sixth Boston Marathon (his fifth in a row) for the cause of Micah House.

Seidman and his wife, Jocelyn Guyer, are active in Temple Micah in the Glover Park area of D.C. A member of the board of Micah House since 1993 and president from 1996-2000, he uses his marathon running to raise funds for Micah House, a transitional house for homeless women in recovery from substance abuse. He has completed a total of 17 marathons (including Boston) since he started running these races.

"Since 1990," he says proudly, "Micah House has helped more than 40 women make the transition to greater independence. Among our success stories, two women have left Micah House to purchase their own condominiums in Washington. We have gained experience in the last several years, and now have developed a vision to expand our population and scope of services.

"We are in the process," he explains, "of developing a strategic plan to buy property so that we can serve more residents in a broader range of housing options. We would like to be able to serve families with children, as well as single women. We also would like to be able to offer the next step for some women, who wish to move from the group home setting to fully independent living."

"Josh attended the Devotion School, Kehillath Israel Hebrew School and Brookline High" says his father, Aaron Seidman, who runs Brookline's Imaginative Illustration, which creates web sites and provides other services for small businesses, "where he ran three seasons each year (cross-country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring). Following his undergraduate studies at Brown University, he began the marathons."

Josh was selected to be part of the Synagogue 2000 team for Temple Micah, where he actively participated in local and national meetings of members of Conservative and Reform synagogues.

How was the marathon? "It was a tough day for me weather-wise," he answers. "I'm a poor warm-weather runner, and even though it was not as hot as it was supposed to be, I definitely battled dehydration for much of the second half. That said, as always, it was still a fantastic day. As marathons go, there is nothing like the Boston experience: the history, the amazing crowds, the terrific volunteers, the demanding course, and the overall inspiration. After my sixth Boston (and fifth in a row), I hope to come back here every year."

How'd he do?

He finished in just over three hours, finishing 1337th out of about 16,000+ registered runners. Not too shabby a performance, all around.