A BONE TO PICK
In the early 1970s, Keith McCormick was winning Junior National Championships in the pentathlon, an athletic competition made up of five events: pistol shooting, fencing, horse jumping, swimming and cross-country running.
The ancient Olympic pentathlon—running, jumping, spear-throwing, discus and wrestling—was considered the most difficult event of all, with the winner crowned Victor Ludorum, “the winner of the games,”and its modern equivalent is no less grueling.
Keith was a powerful athlete who trained anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day for years. In 1976, he was an alternate member of the US Summer Olympic pentathlon team in Montreal, Canada. He also competed and placed second and fourth with several World Championship teams.
His passion for fitness extended to his career, and in 1982 Keith graduated from the National College of Chiropractic and became a sports-oriented chiropractor. He also kept up a regular training routine and continued to compete in triathlons and Ironman competitions.
And then in 1999, at age 45, his hip started hurting badly during a track workout. “I couldn’t even finish the workout, which was very weird,” he says. “I messed around with it for a couple
