People love the concept of running
a marathon. Perhaps it is the conquest
of one's own body and mind to run
26 miles that inspires people to train
and participate in such madness.
As the legend goes, Pheidippides first
ran the stretch from Marathon to Athens
in 490 B.C. just to announce that the
Persians had been defeated. He burst
into the Greek assembly, announced,
"We have won!"
Then he DROPPED DEAD.
In our twisted society, six-pack abs and
visible ribs are purporters of health. Most
anyone who trains for marathons will
exhibit these markers with pride. But the
reality is body fat at this level allows the
quick onset of sickness and promotes
the birth of cancer. The immune system
gets completely hammered with this
kind of punishment.
A marathon is a wretched plague of
sickness. Many do not finish, and the
ones who do are on death's door. Even
the best can collapse and need medical
attention. Runners like to say that deaths
are rare, but there are certainly enough
deaths of "healthy" marathoners to get
everyone's attention.
A classmate from high school suffered a heart attack after a workout at the gym. After a three week battle for his life in the hospital he died, leaving behind a pregnant wife. This amazing young man of 34 was a high school and college athlete and won the battle against cancer in his twenties. He loved to run marathons and did so when he recovered from cancer. If only he had been prescribed gentle, healing exercise, he might still be with us and live to watch his little daughter grow up.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to think about in regards to marathons is that death is an extreme result. Many people suffer injuries from training for these races. But they keep on pushing, running with bad knees, and sore hips, wrapping limbs and popping motrin to mask the pain.
Isn't it interesting that the marathon people run, to raise money for and support disease sufferers, are the very thing that contributes to the problem.
This shows again how stupid marathons are:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dooce.com/2011/11/07/doesnt-even-touch-how-awful-rest-my-body-feels
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150347175552064&set=a.182323407063.138726.174127537063&type=1&theater
ReplyDeleteToo bad there isn't a way to get Healing Exercise through to Dooce. Unfortunately she has a couple million followers and probably receives a few thousand messages with unsolicited advice, daily. Her blog shares a plethora of posts about her ailments from training for and running marathons. At 36 years old she's on a downward spiral; I guess we have front row seats to watch the story unfold.
ReplyDeleteNew Flash, Marathons May Cause Permanent Damage http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/07/running-marathons-may-cause-permanent-heart-damage-study-says/
ReplyDeleteWhile we're talking about how dangerous running is, perhaps we should mention how dangerous skiing is, with many deaths, not to mention crippling injuries. Tommy, you seem to have a fixation with running over a number of more hazardous activities. So, what percent of World Cup alpine ski racers have had surgery?
ReplyDeleteI will first say that I don't believe in the downhill, which is the 80-mph speed event. Yes, everyone gets hurt and it's ridiculous. That said, the technical events have much fewer incidences of horrible injuries. I am suggesting that running is a dead-end road with diminishing returns. I am also suggesting that Tai Chi and QiGong are far better resorts for daily exercise. Skiing is a pass time or hobby, and something I love-- but I am not recommending it as a daily exercise to replace jogging. That's what Tai Chi is for.
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