No cockiness. No arrogance. Just the most winning smile. And an enthusiastic invitation to “come sit out back and talk.”
Endurance athlete Michele Santilhano exudes calm and quiet confidence without a trace of bravado. Yet, she can claim a string of impressive accomplishments: swimming the English Channel and Escape from Alcatraz – done; running six Western States 100 mile treks – done; “the world’s toughest bicycle race,” (the 3,000 miles Race Across America (RAAM) from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD) – done.
The native of South Africa first entered endurance competitions as a runner and credits hikes around native Cape Town with parents as her earliest inspiration. She swam the English Channel and completed an Ironman triathlon before arriving in the Bay Area and joining Menlo Park-based Team Sheeper as a triathlete.
“Tim’s my inspiration,” she says of the team’s captain, Tim Sheeper. “He coaches with his eyes. He’s such a role model the way he balances work and sports. Plus, he’s a man of few words, so when he does speak you listen.”
The accolades go both ways: Tim calls Michele “the most inspirational athlete I’ve ever met.”
Tim participated in the RAAM as part of a four person relay. This year Michele decided to attempt it solo, and can now count herself among only 30 women who have managed to finish within the allocated time of 309 hours. Michele finished in 12 days, 19 hours (308 hours).
“The most exciting moment for me was when I got to Gettysburg,” says Michele. “It was there, riding through that fascinating countryside, that I realized I was going make it.”
During the 3,000 miles ride, Michele slept about 90 minutes in a 24 hour period. She kept her goals easily in sight – taped to the frame of her bike (photo left). Her technical crew trailed her, and she raced during the night in the vehicle’s headlights. During last 36 to 48 hours – she’s not exactly sure – she didn’t sleep.
” RAAM is the pinnacle of endurance cycling,” she says. “Finishing it completed my resume for endurance sports.”
So what’s next for Michele, a pediatric oncology nurse at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital when she’s not mentoring kids in the Building Futures Now program?
Having attempted Everest once, she’s thinking about looking upward and tackling the world’s seven highest peaks. “I’m an explorer at heart.” she says.
Photos by Chris Gulker
There have been a number of siren songs in Dr. Janesta Noland’s life. While she grew up thinking she’d become a physician – her father was a doctor, her mother a nurse and grandfather a small town doc – she gravitated toward the classics during her undergraduate years at Stanford.
“I was all set to pursue a graduate degree in that area when it hit me that I’d end up making a pittance just to publish papers explaining the meaning of one word within some Greek tragedy,” she laughs.
So it was back to medicine where she found herself drawn to critical care. But her path was again altered, this time toward primary care and eventually pediatrics.
“The adrenaline rush and intellectual stimulation of critical care/ICU is undeniable,” she says. “But in patient consultations, I found myself paying as much attention to the children in the room as the adult I was treating. Plus my husband’s career is pretty intense and I realized we couldn’t both have high intensity jobs and also a raise a family.”
Janesta joined the pediatric staff at Menlo Medical Clinic following her residency. Two years ago she was one of three pediatricians to found the first exclusively pediatric concierge service on the Peninsula – Burgess Pediatrics in Menlo Park. The practice, with its more limited patient load, provides well and illness care from birth through college graduation.
“When we started doing this, I didn’t know how much I would like it and how satisfying it would be,” she says. “The deeper relationships we form are so meaningful.”
When talking with a pediatrician, it’s natural for the conversation to shift to parenting now versus parenting 30 years ago. Janesta is quick to acknowledge how much it’s changed.
“I let my own kids (she has three, age 10 and under) play by themselves [in age-appropriate settings] and run barefoot in the summertime,” she says, “and this really surprises people today.
“From what I’ve observed, with children under five, the vast majority of parents feel they’re remiss if they are not guiding the child every waking moment. There’s been a shift away from letting kids play independently and creatively. But kids need to look at and react to the world around them in their own way and time. When we do everything for them and book them 24/7, that doesn’t happen.
“So one of the things I do as a pediatrician is to counsel parents to chill out and embrace the joys of childhood. Yes, kids are going to fall down, stumble, get bruised. But letting them experience the world around them on their own also allows them to be self-sufficient and develop the coping skills that makes them successful adults.”
Photo by Chris Gulker
