Dr. Nathan Ross always knew he wanted to be in the medical profession. But it was during his third year in medical school when he realized he wanted to be an OBGYN.

"I loved delivering babies and doing surgeries," Ross said. "I loved seeing patients in the office. There is a lot of variety in my profession."

Ross is a partner in OB-GYN South at Brookwood Medical Center and is known for his popularity among patients -- after all, he was voted Birmingham Magazine's favorite obstetrician in 2011 and 2012. A 1994 graduate of Indiana University School of Medicine, Ross also serves as chairman of the Brookwood Medical Center Obstetrics Performance Improvement Committee, a role he has held since 2011.

A self-proclaimed poster boy for bad eating habits, the physician realized just before the millennium turned that he had put on some extra pounds.

"I'm not an athlete, and I didn't enjoy running, but when I started gaining weight, some friends encouraged me to run a marathon," Ross said. "It was about three or four months into training when I actually started to enjoy it. I still have a terrible diet. People make fun of me for not eating well, and that hasn't changed."

He started off the new year in 2000 with a goal to try the long distance run and by October 2000, he entered his first marathon in Chicago. Since then, he has run more than 40 marathons, as well as taking part in triathlons and Iron Man competitions. The Iron Man is most exacting with a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a full marathon run of 26.2-miles.

When Ross runs a marathon, he usually finishes in the top 10 percent crossing the finish line.

"I'm not getting any faster," Ross said. "I peaked three or four years ago when I was trying to get into the Boston Marathon. As I age, I get a little slower."

Ross, whose enthusiasm in the sport is reflected by a portion of his email address, "trigeek," trained intensively to accomplish the goal of the Boston Marathon, which he has run four times, including in 2013, the infamous year of the bombings. His faster pace -- usually around 3:20 or 3:25 -- saw his race complete before the improvised devices detonated.

"It was a crazy day and a sad time," Ross said.

While he's dedicated to running, the doctor's heartfelt commitment is to medicine and the charity work he participates in every year in Africa. He volunteers as a senior medical consultant at one of the largest mission hospitals in Africa, which has 3,500 deliveries per year. Not only does he usher new babies into the world, he supervises intern and surgical-resident training while on site.

Ross's first foray to Africa was 12 years ago during a short-term mission trip while in college. Now, he has traveled to assist at Christian hospitals about 15 times, often through Samaritan's Purse, a ministry with Franklin Graham.

"It's a whole different world," Ross said. "The resources are much more limited. When I was in Ethiopia for the month of May, the hospital had a blood shortage caused by political issues. It's the first time I've ever had a patient die."

The patient hemorrhaged internally after giving birth, and with no banked blood on hand, did not survive the delivery.

"Generally, we see the sorts of illnesses we see here in the U.S., but they're so much worse in Africa," Ross said. "It takes people longer to get to the doctor because of transportation issues. Their condition is usually much worse by the time they get to us."

It's difficult to go from a land of plenty, with the hospital resources in the U.S., to an area like Ethiopia where the government controls many aspects of health care, including the blood supply. But Ross is reassured with each journey that he is on the right path.

"With every trip I've gone on, I have this moment where I feel this voice from God telling me I'm where I'm supposed to be," Ross said.

It's a feeling echoed by his wife, Cheryl, who shares his passion for mission work and his dedication to running. In the Ethiopian hospital, she was able to put her doctorate in leadership to good use, training staff at the hospital.

"We're blessed to both be involved in helping in Africa in areas where we gifted," Ross said. "We're going back in September."

When in Africa, they still work out for marathons, and Ross has had some interesting encounters while out running, from seeing the occasional wild animals to being accosted by the locals. While running in the jungle in Togo, he was taken aback when a naked African man leapt from the bush and let fly with a verbal barrage. During another run, his wife intervened just as a child was ready to let fly a well-aimed rock. But the overall aesthetic appeal of the country is undeniable.

"I've found beautiful trail running every place I've gone in Africa," Ross said. "Most of these places are at higher elevation so there's definitely a struggle when you start running. I notice I'm always faster when I come back."

That might explain why some of the best runners in the world are from Ethiopia and Kenya, two areas where Ross's mission work --purely coincidentally -- often takes him.

Originally from Indiana, Ross said while he'll never find running to be fun--after all, it's called a workout for a reason--he does see the allure.

"After a few months of running, I could see what it was all about," he said. "You definitely have physical positive feedback, and you feel good, as well."

Not content with marathons alone, Ross has competed in grueling Iron Man races four times, during the last of which he ran, swam and cycled through Chattanooga in 2014. He's taken part in three Florida Iron Man challenges.

"I'm not a good swimmer," Ross said. "I'm very slow, but I can just do it. I'm an above average cyclist and a good runner, so if you put them all together, I can finish."

Despite proclaiming himself a bad swimmer, Ross must be more than proficient to have survived the Alcatraz Triathlon in 2012, a course renowned for its 1.2 mile swim across the shark-infested waters of the San Francisco Bay. There's a reason prisoners didn't escape from the rocky island. Once that portion of the trial is over, it's on to a 23-mile bike ride followed by a 6.1-mile run.

"The challenge on that course was the signature swim," Ross said. "The water is about 55 degrees, and living in the south, it's hard to train for that cold-water experience."

Photo Captions:

Running:

Surgery:

Nathan Ross performing surgery in Africa.