Let me tell you about a film making the rounds in '08 by Jon Dunham, a 30-year old who managed to pull together the $1 Million it took to produce & direct this 104-minute documentary profiling six amateur and professional athletes preparing for the Chicago Marathon.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Spirit of the Marathon : Can You Feel It? I Can!
This is the final blog entry of 2007, I will be back on January 2, 2008, training hard in pursuit of an award in a New York Road Runner Race come Spring. It's going to take a sub 6:00 min/mile pace to do it - I believe I can do it - no, I know I can do it.
Let me tell you about a film making the rounds in '08 by Jon Dunham, a 30-year old who managed to pull together the $1 Million it took to produce & direct this 104-minute documentary profiling six amateur and professional athletes preparing for the Chicago Marathon.
Let me tell you about a film making the rounds in '08 by Jon Dunham, a 30-year old who managed to pull together the $1 Million it took to produce & direct this 104-minute documentary profiling six amateur and professional athletes preparing for the Chicago Marathon.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Ted Corbitt : "Father of Road Racing" Tribute Video
Courtesy of President & CEO Mary Wittenberg - New York Road Runners.
Running a 5K race with 2000 Santas
Had a good running day Sunday - for the first time in since late October I did a "2-a-day" (ran twice in a day) - hoo-ray! Largely because it was 52F for my a.m. 4.5 miler & 54F for my p.m. 4.5 miler -, I am out of shape, 3 .lbs heavier than '07 NYC Marathon weight, I have to hit January @ marathon condition, the shape I was in 60 days ago - cardio wise - I'm giving myself 2 months of real training before I race again, which will be in March - There was no sun in NYC over the weekend :( Just overcast and rather gloomy...however today in NYC it's Sunny - blue skies! Yippeee! I'm heading out and going for 6 miles - hope to clock another 2-a-day to hit January 3 .lbs lighter. Happy Holidays everyone - in the spirit of the day, Christmas Eve - check out the above video of 2000 Santas in a 5K race. Have a great day!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Motivation & Inspiration To Run : Older to Younger
Some motivation & inspiration to run? Well JAN JARVIS Star-Telegram staff writer has done just that when she wrote (excerpted), " Wanda Estes never planned on becoming an athlete. But at 70, that is exactly what this marathon runner is. With her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, the grandmother most recently completed her fourth New York City Marathon and she's already planning to run in the event next year. Several years ago she became concerned about heart disease and took her doctor's advice to start walking or running. Soon her cholesterol level dropped, and she felt more energetic. Then in 2003, when her oldest son, Keith, 42, died from heart disease, Estes found that running helped her cope with her grief. Estes, who ran for the first time at 62, encourages others to get moving, too. "You can't make people run," Estes said. "But you can sure inspire them." She was asked, How has running benefited you? "It helps my whole body. My cholesterol went down, and I stopped taking medication for it. My bone density is good; my teeth are good; my skin is better; my fingernails are long. I don't have gray hair -- it's all natural and down my back. I'm going to donate it to Locks With Love. What have you learned about running? I've learned one thing, and that is if God inspires you to do something, go ahead and do it and don't think about what other people are saying. The first time I tried to run people discouraged me. Some said it would ruin my body and women aren't supposed to run. But you can do it. [end] Wow....I always tell people it's never too late to start running 70 yrs. old, does this lady look great? Here she just started running at age 62! And that's her husband behind her. Any doubt they still have a great sex life? Good for them! And one of my favorite writers is Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, today I see he's written about runners - he writes (excerpted), "There are no uniforms, because they can't afford uniforms, no real running shoes, because they can't afford real running shoes. They stretch on a basketball floor and they run laps on a track above it, because this is how you make do, and for the kids on the Detroit Rescue Mission Greyhounds, whose parents may be homeless, in treatment, in transitional housing or just getting by -- well, making do is what you do. Genesis (a little homeless girl) has a willowy frame, hair braided up, and a smile that could wipe a cynic off the sports page. When she runs, you cannot stop watching her, because she moves as if a collegiate sprinter had been shrunken into her little body. While staying at a Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries facility, the little girl joined the Greyhounds as a way of, her mother says, "doing something constructive." Since then, Genesis has run the 800 meters in three minutes and won a silver medal in the state AAU championships. This summer, in Knoxville, Tenn., she competed at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, racing girls from all over the country. "Where did you get your running shoes?" she is asked. She tou
ches the heel of a silver sneaker. "Payless," she says. Carl Riggins, 57, is the coach, a former track and basketball player at Kettering High in Detroit was once homeless himself. A chance visit to the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries turned him around. He had a hot meal. Slept in a bed. Met with a counselor. "That place saved my life," he says. Today, he is the building manager for the Rescue Mission's permanent housing. He also runs, among other things, programs for seniors and the choir. The Greyhounds compete against teams with expensive shoes, slick uniforms and new equipment. Teams whose training facilities don't feature the smells of a homeless shelter kitchen. Riggins formed the team a few years ago, is its one-man band -- mentor, coach, equipment man, driver. He transports the kids in a van that reads "Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries" on the side. "They're never embarrassed by that," he says (when they arrive to track meets). "They're like other kids. They just want to compete." As they thump around the track, the snow outside the walls, their young feet echoing off the gymnasium rafters, you hope this is the beginning of something bigger and better for all of them, because the most unlikely track team you've ever seen could use a break. [END]. For those interested in helping the Greyhounds, call the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries at 313-993-4700 or visit DRMM.org. Thanks Mitch Albom. The best way I can help these kids, knowing the inner workings of the running industry, is to hit up the right people at Nike, New Balance, Asics, etc. and ask them to take care of these kids & program - for the right reasons - which should be a no brainer. I suppose I can also get them networked and enfranchised in the national kids running associations as well. This I will do. I needed these 2 stories to get me to lace up my shoes and go run in this Winter raining day in New York City. In reflecting on the past year - I am very fortunate & blessed to be able to do this thing - run - I'm going to give it 110% effort today - and for those kids in Detroit to get them sponsored. Have a great day!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
It's Officially Winter
Woke up at 6:30 this morning - it was completely dark still - could not believe it, I thought, "how can it be so damn dark?"...- did not feel like going out in the darkness and running - soon realized it's the Winter Solstice, first day of Winter, Officially. Today the sun is at its most southerly p
oint - it's the shortest day of daylight of the year - The solstice also marks the point at which the days begin to lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere....Yippeeee! New Year's Day will have 4 or 5 minutes more Sunlight than today - then each day going forward from that point will pick up about 4 minutes more of daylight! Running in and through darkness coupled with freezing weather....that just is not my thing, probably why I may never race a Spring Marathon - lack of desire to seriously train in the Winter. That there on the left is what it looks like to train (run) in Central Park in the Winter - often cold and dreary - in fact it's dreary today in NYC - looks like it will be overcast & dreary all day in fact. Hence not only is it the shortest day of daylight today, there will be no sun today - so it appears. A completely dark day - that's no fun - let me go out and try and make the most of it....highly doubt many people are running in Central Park - but we'll see. Have a great day!
oint - it's the shortest day of daylight of the year - The solstice also marks the point at which the days begin to lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere....Yippeeee! New Year's Day will have 4 or 5 minutes more Sunlight than today - then each day going forward from that point will pick up about 4 minutes more of daylight! Running in and through darkness coupled with freezing weather....that just is not my thing, probably why I may never race a Spring Marathon - lack of desire to seriously train in the Winter. That there on the left is what it looks like to train (run) in Central Park in the Winter - often cold and dreary - in fact it's dreary today in NYC - looks like it will be overcast & dreary all day in fact. Hence not only is it the shortest day of daylight today, there will be no sun today - so it appears. A completely dark day - that's no fun - let me go out and try and make the most of it....highly doubt many people are running in Central Park - but we'll see. Have a great day!
Friday, December 21, 2007
"Study Shows Marathons Aren’t Likely to Kill You" : The Dumb Study of the Dumb Dr. Redelmeier
Today the British Journal of Medicine (BJM) published a study out of Toronto, Canada titled "Competing risks of mortality with marathons: retrospective analysis".
The conclusion? The study covered Marathons with at least 1000 participants that had two decades of history and were on public roads in the United States, 1975-2004 - some 3 292 268 runners on 750 separate days encompassing about 14 million hours of exercise. There were 26 sudden cardiac deaths observed...people in a state like that guy on the right, equivalent to a rate of 0.8 per 100 000 participants. I see today Gina Kolata of The New York Times has picked up on todays BJM release and said, "Worried about dropping dead if you run a marathon? Researchers in Canada say you can put your mind at ease. The risk of dying on a marathon course is twice as high if you drive it than if you run it, they find. In fact, they conclude, marathons may actually save lives: more people would die in traffic accidents if the race course had not been closed to vehicles on marathon day. (Nor was there any spillover of extra deaths on alternative routes.) “For each death in a marathon, two motor-vehicle crash deaths were averted,” said Dr. Donald A. Redelmeier, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto (there below on the left) and the lead author of the new study. “It’s riskier if you decide to drive your car around on a Sunday morning than if you go out and run.” Dr. Paul Thompson, a marathon runner and a cardiologist at Hartford Hospital who has studied the risk of having a heart attack or dying in a marathon, called the new study “a unique perspective,” and added, “It look
s at deaths from a societal point of view.” The researchers admit that they cannot prove marathons saved lives. They were comparing actual deaths during marathons to expected deaths from motor-vehicle accidents based on statistics. But they add that their data certainly raise the question of whether the risk of dying in a marathon is exaggerated. Dr. Redelmeier, who has run a marathon, said he began his study out of annoyance with the enormous attention given to each death in a marathon — often even greater, he added, than the attention paid to the winner. When someone died in the Toronto Marathon, he said, there were immediate calls to close it down". [END]. Dr. Paul Thompson - that marathon runner and cardiologist who has studied the risk of having a heart attack or dying in a marathon in that same NY Times article said “ middle-aged men who run marathons are not typical of men their age and their risk of dying while running a marathon, while low, was nonetheless about seven times their risk of dying at other times" (directly countering Redelmeier & discrediting Redelmeier's theme). I cannot believe this Redelmeier fellow has the time & resources to conduct this valueless study. He's tinkering with numbers and drawing conclusions that are valueless, especially when people like Dr. Paul Thompson counters his theme. (1) He has no clue as to how many passengers have safely traveled in vehicles on the referenced "public roads" between '75 - '04, (2) He's annoyed and entered the study with a predetermined biased agenda & conclusion - he simply fudged numbers to realize his predetermined outcome, (3) Salesmanship 101 when you're out to bullshit someone? Tout numbers: 3,292,268 runners, 750 separate days, 14 million hours of exercise, etc, blah friggen blah. This objective is to conjure the aura of credibility and authority based solely on the enormity of big numbers. It's a tactic to obfuscate your intelligence when you're being fed junk science - To which I say McDonald's serves 1 Billion hamburgers, yet much like Redelmeier's study, they're all crap. As "work product" it's valueless - means nothing. Redelmeier's on some vanity driven/motivated quest to make news with buzz soundbite phrases like, "It’s riskier if you decide to drive your car around on a Sunday morning than if you go out and run". His study and effort is not use
ful in any way to any one for any reason - other than momentary media consumption. No one is going to read this and now feel it's "safe" to enter a marathon, it's not like he's unlocked the Da Vinci Code or something holding back people from running. No one is not entering a marathon because they might die in the event. Read this study out of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Evidence of Decreasing Occurrence of Sudden Cardiac Death Associated with the Marathon where you learn the major determinant of survival from cardiac arrest during the marathon is the proximity of a defibrillator to a collapsed runner. A portable defibrillator like that above on the left. Now if Redelmeier wants to be useful? If he wants to invest his time, energy, and resources into something worthwhile to make a difference in the world of marathoning?...if he wants to be relevant and actually act like a doctor and a marathon runner (something hard to believe he is both), he can promote and advocate to increase the number of defibrillators on a marathon course. I've put Redelmeier on blast because he deserves it for pushing valueless junk science because he's annoyed - when he could actually be helpful and use his M.D. cred & runner cred to promote more defibrillators at races. Have a great day!
The conclusion? The study covered Marathons with at least 1000 participants that had two decades of history and were on public roads in the United States, 1975-2004 - some 3 292 268 runners on 750 separate days encompassing about 14 million hours of exercise. There were 26 sudden cardiac deaths observed...people in a state like that guy on the right, equivalent to a rate of 0.8 per 100 000 participants. I see today Gina Kolata of The New York Times has picked up on todays BJM release and said, "Worried about dropping dead if you run a marathon? Researchers in Canada say you can put your mind at ease. The risk of dying on a marathon course is twice as high if you drive it than if you run it, they find. In fact, they conclude, marathons may actually save lives: more people would die in traffic accidents if the race course had not been closed to vehicles on marathon day. (Nor was there any spillover of extra deaths on alternative routes.) “For each death in a marathon, two motor-vehicle crash deaths were averted,” said Dr. Donald A. Redelmeier, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto (there below on the left) and the lead author of the new study. “It’s riskier if you decide to drive your car around on a Sunday morning than if you go out and run.” Dr. Paul Thompson, a marathon runner and a cardiologist at Hartford Hospital who has studied the risk of having a heart attack or dying in a marathon, called the new study “a unique perspective,” and added, “It look
s at deaths from a societal point of view.” The researchers admit that they cannot prove marathons saved lives. They were comparing actual deaths during marathons to expected deaths from motor-vehicle accidents based on statistics. But they add that their data certainly raise the question of whether the risk of dying in a marathon is exaggerated. Dr. Redelmeier, who has run a marathon, said he began his study out of annoyance with the enormous attention given to each death in a marathon — often even greater, he added, than the attention paid to the winner. When someone died in the Toronto Marathon, he said, there were immediate calls to close it down". [END]. Dr. Paul Thompson - that marathon runner and cardiologist who has studied the risk of having a heart attack or dying in a marathon in that same NY Times article said “ middle-aged men who run marathons are not typical of men their age and their risk of dying while running a marathon, while low, was nonetheless about seven times their risk of dying at other times" (directly countering Redelmeier & discrediting Redelmeier's theme). I cannot believe this Redelmeier fellow has the time & resources to conduct this valueless study. He's tinkering with numbers and drawing conclusions that are valueless, especially when people like Dr. Paul Thompson counters his theme. (1) He has no clue as to how many passengers have safely traveled in vehicles on the referenced "public roads" between '75 - '04, (2) He's annoyed and entered the study with a predetermined biased agenda & conclusion - he simply fudged numbers to realize his predetermined outcome, (3) Salesmanship 101 when you're out to bullshit someone? Tout numbers: 3,292,268 runners, 750 separate days, 14 million hours of exercise, etc, blah friggen blah. This objective is to conjure the aura of credibility and authority based solely on the enormity of big numbers. It's a tactic to obfuscate your intelligence when you're being fed junk science - To which I say McDonald's serves 1 Billion hamburgers, yet much like Redelmeier's study, they're all crap. As "work product" it's valueless - means nothing. Redelmeier's on some vanity driven/motivated quest to make news with buzz soundbite phrases like, "It’s riskier if you decide to drive your car around on a Sunday morning than if you go out and run". His study and effort is not use
ful in any way to any one for any reason - other than momentary media consumption. No one is going to read this and now feel it's "safe" to enter a marathon, it's not like he's unlocked the Da Vinci Code or something holding back people from running. No one is not entering a marathon because they might die in the event. Read this study out of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Evidence of Decreasing Occurrence of Sudden Cardiac Death Associated with the Marathon where you learn the major determinant of survival from cardiac arrest during the marathon is the proximity of a defibrillator to a collapsed runner. A portable defibrillator like that above on the left. Now if Redelmeier wants to be useful? If he wants to invest his time, energy, and resources into something worthwhile to make a difference in the world of marathoning?...if he wants to be relevant and actually act like a doctor and a marathon runner (something hard to believe he is both), he can promote and advocate to increase the number of defibrillators on a marathon course. I've put Redelmeier on blast because he deserves it for pushing valueless junk science because he's annoyed - when he could actually be helpful and use his M.D. cred & runner cred to promote more defibrillators at races. Have a great day! Thursday, December 20, 2007
Oscar Pistorius aka "Blade Runner" : Denied Olympic Dream
In July 2007, the IAAF decided to carry out full biomechanical analysis of the Paralympic
Champion Oscar Pistorius (RSA), in an effort to obtain scientific data about the prosthetics that Oscar, who is a double amputee, uses when he runs. The tests, which took place last month at the German Sport University in Cologne (Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics) were commissioned by the IAAF in order to see whether the prosthetics used by Oscar should be considered as technical aids, in contravention of IAAF competition rule 144.2 (violating Olympic standards). The IAAF can confirm that Professor Peter Bruggemann’s report was received yesterday and has been sent today to Oscar Pistorius’ representative in confidence. At present, the IAAF does not plan to discuss the contents of the report, or make any public announcement about any decision related to the report, until 10 January 2008. However yesterday to a German newspaper Professor Peter Bruggemann who observed the tests and told Die Welt newspaper that the runner has a 'considerable advantage'. Bruggemann says that Pistorius has an advantage of several percentage points compared with athletes without prosthetic limbs who have undergone the same tests: Hence he cannot compete to earn a slot in the Beijing '08 Olympics. Too bad - Despite this conclusion the sport of running had more to gain in every way by allowing him to compete - above is a pretty cool 2 minute tribute to Oscar. Have a great day!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Running into Public Lewdness in Central Park
Let me get up & try to run 3 miles this morning - I read yesterday where Wendy Hundley of the Dallas Morning News wrote of men who cruise Dallas area parks to meet other men for sex and how a man exposed himself to two female joggers at a local park frequented by runners. There in Dallas their park is called the Grapevine - and it isn't alone in combating these kinds of misdemeanor sex crimes and that Police aren't sure why certain areas seem to be magnets for flashers and cruisers. "We don't know what the main attraction is," Grapevine police Sgt. Kim Smith said of the lakeside parks. "It's a wooded, somewhat secluded area". Sgt. Smith doesn't believe Grapevine has any more of these kinds of crimes than any other city, but she said police there have been aggressive about urging residents to report any incidents of public lewdness. Dallas police post photographs on a Web site of people arrested for such misdemeanor sex crimes. In Grapevine and other cities, only a few people are likely committing a large number of these crimes, said University of North Texas criminologist Jim Quinn. Flashers, like the one that Grapevine police are looking for, are seeking power and attention, he said. Most flashers are men who have poor social skills with women but fantasize that their inappropriate behavior will cause a woman to fall in love with them, Dr. Quinn said. Generally, these men aren't violent. But in some cases, they may start moving close to their victims, talking to them, and becoming more aggressive. "Police are very aware of the potential for more predatory acts," Dr. Quinn said. "Any escalation in their behavior could be very dangerous." For that reason, women who encounter flashers should not take any chances. "They should get out of there fast but should not show fear," Dr. Quinn advised. "There is a distinct type of predator who gets as excited by fear as by sexual contact." On the other hand, the men who cruise parks to meet other men for sex are usually not as dangerous to the general public. These men are mostly "heterosexual in their identification. Many are married. Th
ey come from all walks of life from senators to janitors," Dr. Quinn said. In many cases, cruisers are sex addicts who use sexual behavior to deal with negative emotions in their lives. [END}. Well that's the view from Dallas - just thought I'd note that as these encounters are not uncommon for joggers & runners - the story kind of reminds me of that cover of the New York Daily News: a cellphone snapshot of a subway pervert. It all started when a "smirking sicko" exposed himself to a 22-year-old girl on an uptown R train. The girl responded by "reaching for her secret weapon - her camera phone." After that, she took her story to cyberspace: "She posted his photo on the Web sites Flickr and Craigslist, and bloggers began linking to her site. After his photo was published enough - other women came forward who had been exposed to too - and he was later identified as 37 year old Dan Hoyt - a restaurant owner with a previous arrest record for public lewdness. Running in Central Park? My experience in observing public lewdness is the North Woods - it's not so ba
d anymore - however I did see some undercover cops last Spring escorting two handcuffed men (public sex) from the North Woods and out of the park. That photo on the left is a classic view of a trail in the North Woods of Central park - very secluded - in the Spring or Summer you can be running there - and spot a single man, seemingly simply standing or gazing - and that guy is "cruising" - looking for anonymous public sex - a hook up - this is not uncommon in this area of Central Park and for this reason I would caution people who want to trail run in this area in the Spring or Summer - you might run up right to a flasher or something you just don't want to see - it's happened to me 3 times in the North Woods - and once in the historic "Ramble". It does not bother me to have a guy hitting on me, it's just when they "cross the line" that I get annoyed - and when they pull their dick out of their pants to show me their private joy....that's crossing the line. Everybody in New York has a tale of public or semi-public lewdness. If you've ran in Central Park long enough - you've come across some Gay public sex or lewdness perhaps - especially in the historic "Ramble" - Central Park has been a gay cruising ground since the end of the 19th Century. In fact, during the 1920s the open lawn at the northern end of the Ramble was nicknamed "The Fruited Plain." I'm not making this up, click that link and learn all about it. When I first started running in Central Park the Ramble was surrendered, openly, to Gay culture - you would see men roaming around all over the place - they ain't walking no dog, they ain't bird watching, they ain't got no camera - they were straight up looking for the hook up. I don't think it's as "cruisey" as it used to be. Have a great day!
ey come from all walks of life from senators to janitors," Dr. Quinn said. In many cases, cruisers are sex addicts who use sexual behavior to deal with negative emotions in their lives. [END}. Well that's the view from Dallas - just thought I'd note that as these encounters are not uncommon for joggers & runners - the story kind of reminds me of that cover of the New York Daily News: a cellphone snapshot of a subway pervert. It all started when a "smirking sicko" exposed himself to a 22-year-old girl on an uptown R train. The girl responded by "reaching for her secret weapon - her camera phone." After that, she took her story to cyberspace: "She posted his photo on the Web sites Flickr and Craigslist, and bloggers began linking to her site. After his photo was published enough - other women came forward who had been exposed to too - and he was later identified as 37 year old Dan Hoyt - a restaurant owner with a previous arrest record for public lewdness. Running in Central Park? My experience in observing public lewdness is the North Woods - it's not so ba
d anymore - however I did see some undercover cops last Spring escorting two handcuffed men (public sex) from the North Woods and out of the park. That photo on the left is a classic view of a trail in the North Woods of Central park - very secluded - in the Spring or Summer you can be running there - and spot a single man, seemingly simply standing or gazing - and that guy is "cruising" - looking for anonymous public sex - a hook up - this is not uncommon in this area of Central Park and for this reason I would caution people who want to trail run in this area in the Spring or Summer - you might run up right to a flasher or something you just don't want to see - it's happened to me 3 times in the North Woods - and once in the historic "Ramble". It does not bother me to have a guy hitting on me, it's just when they "cross the line" that I get annoyed - and when they pull their dick out of their pants to show me their private joy....that's crossing the line. Everybody in New York has a tale of public or semi-public lewdness. If you've ran in Central Park long enough - you've come across some Gay public sex or lewdness perhaps - especially in the historic "Ramble" - Central Park has been a gay cruising ground since the end of the 19th Century. In fact, during the 1920s the open lawn at the northern end of the Ramble was nicknamed "The Fruited Plain." I'm not making this up, click that link and learn all about it. When I first started running in Central Park the Ramble was surrendered, openly, to Gay culture - you would see men roaming around all over the place - they ain't walking no dog, they ain't bird watching, they ain't got no camera - they were straight up looking for the hook up. I don't think it's as "cruisey" as it used to be. Have a great day!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Running in the Street is Crazy
Nasty weather in NYC yesterday - no fun. Unfortunately I am reading about the casualty count over the last week - I tell people runners and joggers are killed weekly and it seems many simply feel disconnected from this - well if you run exposed to cars - you're connected. Does anyone compile this data? (1) here a Washington state jogger. (2) This Miami jogger was killed jogging @ 4:40 am - in the morning. (3) This jogger was hit by a truck. (4) This teen jogger was struck and killed on Wednesday - in the same town of the # (3) jogger - that's two joggers hit by vehicles and killed last week in Jacksonville, FL alone. These runners are getting hit in their neighborhoods, familiar running routes, etc. These are just 4 deaths while jogging over the past week that I know of, I am sure there were more deaths of joggers. This does not also include all the runners and joggers that were hit and injured - the ones that lived - shy of death. I see reckless sh*t everyday - even 2 days ago in my blog e
ntry about the woman that has the great running program in Philadelphia called "Back on My Feet" wherein she has the homeless running? Did you see the ABC News video clip on the link? Check it out - she's running on the streets of Philadelphia, her back to the traffic, though morning, completely dark, she's got on dark colors, no reflective vest, nothing - it was a nice feel good story - but that chick is crazy out of her motherf *@# ' ing mind to be running like that. Runners and joggers getting hit by vehicles - killed and or injured is a daily thing in America - that's right, every single day! More than 4700 pedestrians were killed on American roads last year. Tom Held of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently updated a woman I blogged about a while ago who was hit and seriously injured, distance runner Jenny Crain (there on the left) who was struck by a car while she was out running and suffered serious neck, back, and brain injuries - she's very much in recovery and has a very long road & challenge ahead - she well may never recover. Click her link to be updated on her status. It seems the USA Track & Field named Jenny Crain earlier this month, the women's long distance Athlete of the Year for 2007. Tom Held wrote, "The Athlete of the Year designation for Crain was no token of sympathy for an injured runner, but a recognition of the contributions she has made as a advocate for athletes on the USATF women's long-distance running committee. It also honors the fine results she had posted early in the season, before the horrific accident that left her with devastating injuries. The point of this blog entry? Be cautious - it can happen to you - it happens to some runner every day - I myself am very close to abandoning running in the street in NYC - and I run with a reflective vest & 3 Watt headlamp - never with my back to traffic, never w/an ipod, and I'm lit up like a Christmas Tree....but still - running in the proximity of cars is kind of crazy on its face - it's placing way too much trust in drivers being sober / not impaired, good drivers, etc.....and I have no reason to have so much faith in these drivers.....I'm ready to retire from running in areas wherein I am exposed to vehicles - seriously - have a great day!
ntry about the woman that has the great running program in Philadelphia called "Back on My Feet" wherein she has the homeless running? Did you see the ABC News video clip on the link? Check it out - she's running on the streets of Philadelphia, her back to the traffic, though morning, completely dark, she's got on dark colors, no reflective vest, nothing - it was a nice feel good story - but that chick is crazy out of her motherf *@# ' ing mind to be running like that. Runners and joggers getting hit by vehicles - killed and or injured is a daily thing in America - that's right, every single day! More than 4700 pedestrians were killed on American roads last year. Tom Held of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently updated a woman I blogged about a while ago who was hit and seriously injured, distance runner Jenny Crain (there on the left) who was struck by a car while she was out running and suffered serious neck, back, and brain injuries - she's very much in recovery and has a very long road & challenge ahead - she well may never recover. Click her link to be updated on her status. It seems the USA Track & Field named Jenny Crain earlier this month, the women's long distance Athlete of the Year for 2007. Tom Held wrote, "The Athlete of the Year designation for Crain was no token of sympathy for an injured runner, but a recognition of the contributions she has made as a advocate for athletes on the USATF women's long-distance running committee. It also honors the fine results she had posted early in the season, before the horrific accident that left her with devastating injuries. The point of this blog entry? Be cautious - it can happen to you - it happens to some runner every day - I myself am very close to abandoning running in the street in NYC - and I run with a reflective vest & 3 Watt headlamp - never with my back to traffic, never w/an ipod, and I'm lit up like a Christmas Tree....but still - running in the proximity of cars is kind of crazy on its face - it's placing way too much trust in drivers being sober / not impaired, good drivers, etc.....and I have no reason to have so much faith in these drivers.....I'm ready to retire from running in areas wherein I am exposed to vehicles - seriously - have a great day!
Running on Ice & Snow and Not Falling
We've got a bit of an ice-freezing rain-snow event happening in NYC today......and the footing outside is slick & unpredictable. Running in these conditions comes with risk, namely you can slip and seriously injure yourself. As this is a metro-centric running blog....most urban runners do not have a serious light weight trail running shoe (for better traction), yes I have several pairs but really in terms of pure 
traction?....they don't provide you the sure footing you can get from a pair of Yaktrax. You can find them all over the place for $20 or less, if you're going to run on snow or ice get pair and just slap them bad boys over your normal running shoe. This is a must have for the winter runner where it snows - no question - they're actually great to wear for general walking around outside on snow and ice too. Now I'm old enough to know how we used to run on ice and snow "old school" style....and that's by taking our running shoes, a drill, and screwing in regular screws from Home Depot - yup, that's what we used to do back in the day, just like that on the left.....and you can still do this if you so choose - in fact here's a website with instructions on how to make yourself a pair of "screw shoes". eHow has some guidelines & tips on how to run in icey conditions that I feel are worth a look, if you're going to indeed run on snow and ice - however I stress caution to all doing this...the 'cost' of medical care of slipping injuries is almost the same as the 'cost' of auto-traffic injuries - check with local hospitals 24 hours after a snow-ice-freezing rain event and you'll learn of an uptick in slip & falls resulting in fractures and the like. But I have to go running in Central Park right now in this stuff....as this is when the Park is most gorgeous - with a fresh snow! Have a great day.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Running with the Homeless in Philadelphia
Anne Mahlum, below on the left, is a 27-year-old marathoner..and on her predawn Philadelphia runs she kept passing a group of homeless men by a shelter - every morning on her daily run and began to develop a r
apport with the men outside on the corner. What started out as waves and smiles from a distance became more intimate as the developed a comfort level with one another. And one morning a simple idea stopped her in her tracks....a run
ning club for the homeless - and she called it, "Back on My Feet". Back on My Feet, is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of Philadelphia's homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. Established in July 2007, Back on My Feet is a strategic and unique program that uses running to teach critical work and life skills -- such as discipline, respect, leadership, and goal-setting -- to homeless individuals living within the City of Philadelphia. ABC News just featured Anne Mahlum as their person of the week - click here to check out the
video news report of Anne Mahlum & the program. Very impressive woman and an amazing testament of what one person can do in a short order of time to bring "change". This woman who started it all?....."Running is such a beautiful metaphor for life,” said Anne Mahlum, Founder and Executive Director of Back on My Feet. “Life is about choosing different roads and our program teaches the importance of choosing roads filled with opportunity, hope and happiness.” Wow, ....just more affirmation runners are amazing people. Have a great day!
apport with the men outside on the corner. What started out as waves and smiles from a distance became more intimate as the developed a comfort level with one another. And one morning a simple idea stopped her in her tracks....a run
ning club for the homeless - and she called it, "Back on My Feet". Back on My Feet, is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of Philadelphia's homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. Established in July 2007, Back on My Feet is a strategic and unique program that uses running to teach critical work and life skills -- such as discipline, respect, leadership, and goal-setting -- to homeless individuals living within the City of Philadelphia. ABC News just featured Anne Mahlum as their person of the week - click here to check out the
video news report of Anne Mahlum & the program. Very impressive woman and an amazing testament of what one person can do in a short order of time to bring "change". This woman who started it all?....."Running is such a beautiful metaphor for life,” said Anne Mahlum, Founder and Executive Director of Back on My Feet. “Life is about choosing different roads and our program teaches the importance of choosing roads filled with opportunity, hope and happiness.” Wow, ....just more affirmation runners are amazing people. Have a great day!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Running into a Clean & Natural Supplement
Okay...steroids is the news of the day - you know in road running drug cheating is not uncommon, not even in regular weekend 10K races, I've blogged about drug cheaters - master runners over that age of 40 looking to win the local 10K race. There are men and women within the New York Road Runners that I suspect use illegal drugs. It's not just the big city races wherein you find drug cheats, just last year in the heartland of America, last year in the Grandma's 
en cheating in the NYC Marathon like crazy.....This past Spring Lyubov Denisova, that woman on the left, a 35-year-old Russian who has finished in the top 10 in the New York City Marathon four times, finishing second in 2002, fifth in 2003, third in 2004 (with a career best of 2 hours 25 minutes 18 seconds) and ninth in 2005.... this past Spring she tested positive for an elevated testosterone, she's been drug'ed up...and is now facing a 2 year ban from running. She won the Los Angeles Marathon twice, lives in Gainesville, Fla. Her agent, Andreas Baranov, lives in New York. He said Denisova bought Orastan-E, a testosterone drug she did not know was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. “She read the label,” he said in a telephone interview. “She said the label said it helped oxygen capacity and was legal, and she started taking it in February. Her English is not very good, and maybe she misunderstood the label. This is a big surprise for me and for her. We were 100 percent sure she was clean. She took all the blame on herself, and I’m not sure if she will continue running.” If she does
, it will not be in New York. Mary Wittenberg, President of the NYRR said in regards to inviting her to the '07 NYC Marathon, “It didn’t make sense for us to invite her because she had fallen from the top echelon,” said Mary Wittenberg, the New York race director. “She ran in our half-marathon March 25 and she and her teammate won it. If she is banned, we won’t invite her back. Our athletes are held to a higher standard and they know it.” Pro athletes know every single molecule that goes in to their body y'all....they know. When people are caught, it's not like it was their first time they "doped", they just got caught for the first time, that's all. Hell, I can't say I'm any better than these people - I take performance enhancing supplements too....I just am not taking horse pills or HGH or THG or steroids or any of that crazy crap. No f'#%'ing way - are you kidding? Never that crap - but I am trying to be a great runner, and I also try and be a great lover, and just great in everything I do....but it all consumes so much energy.....so I take a daily multi that I've blogged about and that on the right, "Solid Energy". WTF is "Solid Energy"? Oh some crazy ass mixture of Amino Acids, Korean Ginseng, Yohimbe Bark, Horny Goat Weed, Passion Flower, Saw Palmetto and many other exotic ingredients to give you Maximum Strength Solid Energy®. In sum, natural stuff to keep my running & sex game tight. I'm far too vain about my running & sexual performance - and want every edge I can get as I push my body hard - in both departments - but clean & natural - that means no laboratory stuff. I buy it on line @ Vital4U.com, which has all sorts of natural energy supplements and the like. Have a great day & keep it clean & natural!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A Glimpse of Ted Corbitt on Film Running
I met Ted Corbitt once. If you read this blog, you know forever I have been decrying how outrageous it is that the New York Road Runners annually honor & commemorate numerous people - but not Ted Corbitt. All you have to do is read what the NYRR have said about Ted Corbitt on their website (which is not the complete story), but a story that towers over everyone the NYRR's honor and commemorate including Fred Lebow and by a considerable margin - Mary Wittenberg and the NYRR should be embarrassed to explain how this man, Ted Corbitt, is not commemorated with the naming of a race, while numerous others are. "Emil Zatopek": One of the greatest runners of the 20th Century, Emil Zátopek revolutionized running and training - he achieved legendary status when he won the 5K, the 10K, & the marathon at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. Zatopek dominated long distance running from 1948 until 1954, set 18 world records over various distances including every record from 5K to 30K - of course the Africans were not in the field of competition....but that's another story for another time - not today, and today is not about Zatopek either - I would though be remiss if I did not say about Zatopek what I have - today is about the one African - American I know of that raced against Zatopek, the late Ted Corbitt. I know of no film footage of Ted Corbitt running.....except for the brief moment in which you can clearly see Ted Corbitt in the field with Emil Zatopek at the start of the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Marathon. Above is a 3 minute short on Zatopek - when this video short gets to the start of the Marathon @ 1:38 into the video....look close, Ted's not too hard to spot, he's the Black man, muscular, basically in the middle breaking out from the starting line....if you blink you'll miss him - but that's Ted Corbitt making history. It's only a glimpse, but it's something. Have a great day!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Running into Too Much Damn Sex
I would characterize my training post NYC Marathon as "minimal" (at best). I am just returning home from a ho-hum 4 miler in a balmy 52F. I should have clocked at least 7 - 10 in weather this ideal for running. If you read this blog you might notice I've been running 20 - 25 miles per week tops (if that). I'm going to come clean with you all, in a word, "sex". I've been having too damn much sex - yes...it's possible.....er...I think. Maybe someone out there knows better than me....I've never had as much sex as I've been having as of late. This running thing is unbelievable for cardiovascular fitness, and maximum blood circulation, hormone production. Running is basically sex in my book. I've never heard of a runner that was not also a wonderful lover. Up until late October I was celibate for 10 da
mn long ass months. That was a tragedy...but it did allow me to train strong for the NYC Marathon. The only reason I throttled down and tapered for the Marathon from running 100 miles / week was the 2 week taper coincided with the commencing of sex - end of the drought (celibacy). I even had sex several hours after the NYC Marathon - something I was not sure was possible considering the fatigue factor....but the training prepared me well (and I suppose all runners) for marathoning & sex, do they not go hand in hand? But the pendulum has swung too far in the sex direction, it's affecting my training - ability to indeed train strong....basically because I feel exhausted....and this woman I am seeing?...she's not exactly helping matters. Let me just put it to you like this - we were having so much sex - being responsible I was concerned of her needed rest for her somewhat high pressure job - hence several weeks ago I asked her if we should scale down our love life a bit in the interest of being well rested for work. Her response?, "Lance....don't be stupid.....let's keep making love....we can sleep when we're dead". Damn, what have I gotten into? I am not making that up....and... that turned me on on many levels ...when she said that to me.....I thought to myself, "damn, you can be a runner with an attitude like that".....- I am not complaining here y'all....don't get me wrong - just feeling I am having too much sex to sustain a serious running / training regime as well. Alan Farnham wrote in Forbes having regular and enthusiastic sex confers a host of measurable physiological advantages, be you male or female. In one of the most credible studies correlating overall health with sexual frequency, Queens University in Belfast tracked the mortality of about 1,000 middle-aged men over the course of a decade. Its findings, published in 1997 in the British Medical Journal, were that men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm enjoyed a death rate half that of the laggards. In a 2001 follow-on to the Queens University study mentioned above, researchers focused on cardiovascular health. Their finding?
That by having sex three or more times a week, men reduced their risk of heart attack or stroke by half. Sex, if nothing else, is exercise. A vigorous bout burns some 200 calories--about the same as running 15 minutes on a treadmill. The pulse rate, in a person aroused, rises from about 70 beats per minute to 150, the same as that of an athlete putting forth maximum effort. British researchers have determined that the equivalent of six Big Macs can be worked off by having sex three times a week for a year. Muscular contractions during intercourse work the pelvis, thighs, buttocks, arms, neck and thorax. Sex also boosts production of testosterone, which leads to stronger bones and muscles. Dr. J. Francois Eid, a urologist with Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, observes that erectile dysfunction is extension of vascular system. A lethargic member may be telling you that you have diseased blood vessels elsewhere in your body. "Men who exercise and have a good heart and low heart rate, and who are cardio-fit, have firmer erections. There very definitely is a relationship." But is there such a thing as too much sex? The answer, in purely physiological terms, is this: If you're female, probably not. If you're male? You betcha. Dr. Claire Bailey of the University of Bristol says there is little or no risk of a woman's overdosing on sex. In fact, she says, regular sessions can not only firm a woman's tummy and buttocks but also improve her posture. As for men, urologist Eid says it's definitely possible to get too much of a good thing, now that drugs such as Viagra and Levitra have given men far more staying power than may actually be good for them. The penis, says Eid, is wonderfully resilient. But everything has its limits. Penile tissues, if given too roistering or prolonged a pummeling, can sustain damage. In cases you'd just as soon not hear about, permanent damage. "Yes," says Dr. Eid, "It is possible for a young man who is very forceful and who likes rough sex, to damage his erectile tissue." The drugs increase rigidity; moreover, they make it possible for a man to have second and third orgasms without having to wait out intermission. "I see it in pro football players," says Eid. "They use Viagra because they're so sexually active. What they demand of their body is unreasonable. It's part of playing football: you play through the pain." This type of guy doesn't listen to his body. He takes a shot of cortisone, and keeps on going. And they have sex in similar fashion." There's a reason the penis, in its natural state, undergoes a period of flaccidity: That's when it takes a breather. The blood within it is replenished with oxygen. "During an erection," explains Eid, "very little blood
flows to the penis. During thrusting, pressure can go as high as 200 mil of water. Zero blood flows into penis at that time." To absorb oxygen, the tissue must become relaxed. "If you do not allow the penis to rest, then the muscle tissue does not get enough oxygen. The individual gets prolonged erections, gets decreased oxygen to tissue, and could potentially suffer priapism." "The muscle becomes so engorged, it's painful. Pressure inside starts to increase. Cells start dying. More pressure and less blood flow. Eventually the muscle dies. [END]. Thanks to this training thing - I've no need for drugs, naturally I am as virile as at any point in my life (the running) even more so.....but I believe it's unreasonable to maintain the amount of sex I've been having & seriously train for racing. Fortunately an incident happend with this woman I am seeing where we hit "rock bottom". All I am clear of is the other night at the end of sexual slumber we were in the glow, trying to collect ourselves, and noticed a feeling of blood rushing to our heads. We realized though we were on the mattress, we were at an angle with our feet elevated at the top, the mattress was basically positioned like a "slide" downward toward the floor. Gradually over time during the sex we had moved the mattress clear off the box spring, down over the foot of the bed and onto the floor. A small part of the mattress is all the remained on the box spring of the bed....of course we were oblivious to this during the loving.....and it was this event that enabled me to show this woman that we have a problem - crazy as it sounds - we have to curtail the sex - have balanced lives, she has to be rested for work, I've got to train hard again, race strong, etc. She agreed. I came up with a solution that I hope works and enables me to return to strong training. I went on line to a specialty shop and bought an hourglass just like that one on the left. So though the sex has been beneficial to my training, and been the best cross training, it will be scaled down to twice a day & no more than 1 hour each session - foreplay included. Not particularly romantic and it's terrible to suppress loving - but I've got competing interest (to run and train hard - my goal is to win an award with the NYRR in '08) ....and I've gotta do the responsible thing here - you'll know it's working when I start running 50+ miles / week again. Have a great day.
mn long ass months. That was a tragedy...but it did allow me to train strong for the NYC Marathon. The only reason I throttled down and tapered for the Marathon from running 100 miles / week was the 2 week taper coincided with the commencing of sex - end of the drought (celibacy). I even had sex several hours after the NYC Marathon - something I was not sure was possible considering the fatigue factor....but the training prepared me well (and I suppose all runners) for marathoning & sex, do they not go hand in hand? But the pendulum has swung too far in the sex direction, it's affecting my training - ability to indeed train strong....basically because I feel exhausted....and this woman I am seeing?...she's not exactly helping matters. Let me just put it to you like this - we were having so much sex - being responsible I was concerned of her needed rest for her somewhat high pressure job - hence several weeks ago I asked her if we should scale down our love life a bit in the interest of being well rested for work. Her response?, "Lance....don't be stupid.....let's keep making love....we can sleep when we're dead". Damn, what have I gotten into? I am not making that up....and... that turned me on on many levels ...when she said that to me.....I thought to myself, "damn, you can be a runner with an attitude like that".....- I am not complaining here y'all....don't get me wrong - just feeling I am having too much sex to sustain a serious running / training regime as well. Alan Farnham wrote in Forbes having regular and enthusiastic sex confers a host of measurable physiological advantages, be you male or female. In one of the most credible studies correlating overall health with sexual frequency, Queens University in Belfast tracked the mortality of about 1,000 middle-aged men over the course of a decade. Its findings, published in 1997 in the British Medical Journal, were that men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm enjoyed a death rate half that of the laggards. In a 2001 follow-on to the Queens University study mentioned above, researchers focused on cardiovascular health. Their finding?
That by having sex three or more times a week, men reduced their risk of heart attack or stroke by half. Sex, if nothing else, is exercise. A vigorous bout burns some 200 calories--about the same as running 15 minutes on a treadmill. The pulse rate, in a person aroused, rises from about 70 beats per minute to 150, the same as that of an athlete putting forth maximum effort. British researchers have determined that the equivalent of six Big Macs can be worked off by having sex three times a week for a year. Muscular contractions during intercourse work the pelvis, thighs, buttocks, arms, neck and thorax. Sex also boosts production of testosterone, which leads to stronger bones and muscles. Dr. J. Francois Eid, a urologist with Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, observes that erectile dysfunction is extension of vascular system. A lethargic member may be telling you that you have diseased blood vessels elsewhere in your body. "Men who exercise and have a good heart and low heart rate, and who are cardio-fit, have firmer erections. There very definitely is a relationship." But is there such a thing as too much sex? The answer, in purely physiological terms, is this: If you're female, probably not. If you're male? You betcha. Dr. Claire Bailey of the University of Bristol says there is little or no risk of a woman's overdosing on sex. In fact, she says, regular sessions can not only firm a woman's tummy and buttocks but also improve her posture. As for men, urologist Eid says it's definitely possible to get too much of a good thing, now that drugs such as Viagra and Levitra have given men far more staying power than may actually be good for them. The penis, says Eid, is wonderfully resilient. But everything has its limits. Penile tissues, if given too roistering or prolonged a pummeling, can sustain damage. In cases you'd just as soon not hear about, permanent damage. "Yes," says Dr. Eid, "It is possible for a young man who is very forceful and who likes rough sex, to damage his erectile tissue." The drugs increase rigidity; moreover, they make it possible for a man to have second and third orgasms without having to wait out intermission. "I see it in pro football players," says Eid. "They use Viagra because they're so sexually active. What they demand of their body is unreasonable. It's part of playing football: you play through the pain." This type of guy doesn't listen to his body. He takes a shot of cortisone, and keeps on going. And they have sex in similar fashion." There's a reason the penis, in its natural state, undergoes a period of flaccidity: That's when it takes a breather. The blood within it is replenished with oxygen. "During an erection," explains Eid, "very little blood
flows to the penis. During thrusting, pressure can go as high as 200 mil of water. Zero blood flows into penis at that time." To absorb oxygen, the tissue must become relaxed. "If you do not allow the penis to rest, then the muscle tissue does not get enough oxygen. The individual gets prolonged erections, gets decreased oxygen to tissue, and could potentially suffer priapism." "The muscle becomes so engorged, it's painful. Pressure inside starts to increase. Cells start dying. More pressure and less blood flow. Eventually the muscle dies. [END]. Thanks to this training thing - I've no need for drugs, naturally I am as virile as at any point in my life (the running) even more so.....but I believe it's unreasonable to maintain the amount of sex I've been having & seriously train for racing. Fortunately an incident happend with this woman I am seeing where we hit "rock bottom". All I am clear of is the other night at the end of sexual slumber we were in the glow, trying to collect ourselves, and noticed a feeling of blood rushing to our heads. We realized though we were on the mattress, we were at an angle with our feet elevated at the top, the mattress was basically positioned like a "slide" downward toward the floor. Gradually over time during the sex we had moved the mattress clear off the box spring, down over the foot of the bed and onto the floor. A small part of the mattress is all the remained on the box spring of the bed....of course we were oblivious to this during the loving.....and it was this event that enabled me to show this woman that we have a problem - crazy as it sounds - we have to curtail the sex - have balanced lives, she has to be rested for work, I've got to train hard again, race strong, etc. She agreed. I came up with a solution that I hope works and enables me to return to strong training. I went on line to a specialty shop and bought an hourglass just like that one on the left. So though the sex has been beneficial to my training, and been the best cross training, it will be scaled down to twice a day & no more than 1 hour each session - foreplay included. Not particularly romantic and it's terrible to suppress loving - but I've got competing interest (to run and train hard - my goal is to win an award with the NYRR in '08) ....and I've gotta do the responsible thing here - you'll know it's working when I start running 50+ miles / week again. Have a great day.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Running into the New Timing System
Too tired to run yesterday - going to try and clock 4.5 @ a 7:30 pace this morning - seems mild outside - weather wise. On this blog I noted I had seen only 1 nasty accident in Central Park on the holiday weekend (Thanksgiving) - turns out the next day The Huffington Post' writer Rachel Sklar reported an accident in Central Park involving that guy on the left, CNN anchor
John Roberts. I then blogged about the bizarre coincidence of reading about something I chanced upon in my training. Rachel Sklar has since contacted me to learn if I had anything to add to the incident as a witness. In my general running in the Central Park I arrived on the scene minutes after the collision - others seemed to be tending to the well being of those involved, I saw no useful or needed role for me and continued on (not interested in "rubbernecking" the event). Rachel Sklar has followed up the story - it's uglier than first thought, she said, "Remember how John Roberts [CNN] was in a bicycle accident on Thanksgiving wherein a car cut him off, forcing him to swerve and collide with a jogger, resulting in both of them being taken away from the scene in ambulances? The CNN morning anchor, who spent a chunk of his Thanksgiving day in the hospital getting stitches in his right hand, credited his bicycle helmet with saving him from further injury — but it could have saved his life. Turns out that Roberts was hurt worse than he thought in the collision: Turns out, he broke his neck. Roberts found out yesterday after hearing from the hospital, which had been delayed in contacting him due to a clerical error during the intake process. Turns out he broke a "facet" bone, which attaches vertebrae together over similarly-named facet joints, enabling the neck to move back and forth".[END]. I don't know the status of the jogger hit - I've probably seen 20+ accidents like this in Central Park - I've been hit twice by cyclist - once minor, once kind of rough, both from behind. Moving on I see a runner named Jacquline Nyetipei, 23-year-old from Kenya won the women's half marathon title at White Rock in Texas this past weekend... with temperatures in the 40s and winds gusting at 10 to 15 mph, Nyetipei finished the 13.1-mile race in 1 hour, 11 minutes, 45 seconds....if you think that's impressive.....note she had a baby six months ago. Damn. Talk about "snapping back"...amazing. Okay, I've
been reading about this new timing technology for races from a company called SAI Timing Systems. The technology is attached the bib. The runner peels the tag off and places it on their shoes. They then run the race and keep the RFID tag. The SAI Tag is disposable. The race no longer has to worry about collecting chips when the race is done. This SAI Timing system saves event managers and timers many hours of work to prepare and clean up after an event. It also lets participants do what they came to the race to do, compete and go home. They will never again have to stop and be chased down to return a timing device! And on the SAI website it says, The tag is completely weatherproof and will work regardless of rain, heat, storms, humidity or other inclement conditions. And wow, looks like it won't be long before we're using this here in New York City, after all SAI locked down the Philadelphia, Houston, Las Vegas Marathons this year,....and oh yes, they were the timing system for the Honolulu Marathon this past weekend. Let's take a look and see how well it worked, shall we? In a Hawaii based newspaper called the Honolulu Advertiser, writer Michael Tsai wrote, " Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of runners in the 35th Honolulu Marathon had their split and finish times incorrectly or incompletely recorded when the event's new timing system — administered by Michigan-based SAI
John Roberts. I then blogged about the bizarre coincidence of reading about something I chanced upon in my training. Rachel Sklar has since contacted me to learn if I had anything to add to the incident as a witness. In my general running in the Central Park I arrived on the scene minutes after the collision - others seemed to be tending to the well being of those involved, I saw no useful or needed role for me and continued on (not interested in "rubbernecking" the event). Rachel Sklar has followed up the story - it's uglier than first thought, she said, "Remember how John Roberts [CNN] was in a bicycle accident on Thanksgiving wherein a car cut him off, forcing him to swerve and collide with a jogger, resulting in both of them being taken away from the scene in ambulances? The CNN morning anchor, who spent a chunk of his Thanksgiving day in the hospital getting stitches in his right hand, credited his bicycle helmet with saving him from further injury — but it could have saved his life. Turns out that Roberts was hurt worse than he thought in the collision: Turns out, he broke his neck. Roberts found out yesterday after hearing from the hospital, which had been delayed in contacting him due to a clerical error during the intake process. Turns out he broke a "facet" bone, which attaches vertebrae together over similarly-named facet joints, enabling the neck to move back and forth".[END]. I don't know the status of the jogger hit - I've probably seen 20+ accidents like this in Central Park - I've been hit twice by cyclist - once minor, once kind of rough, both from behind. Moving on I see a runner named Jacquline Nyetipei, 23-year-old from Kenya won the women's half marathon title at White Rock in Texas this past weekend... with temperatures in the 40s and winds gusting at 10 to 15 mph, Nyetipei finished the 13.1-mile race in 1 hour, 11 minutes, 45 seconds....if you think that's impressive.....note she had a baby six months ago. Damn. Talk about "snapping back"...amazing. Okay, I've
been reading about this new timing technology for races from a company called SAI Timing Systems. The technology is attached the bib. The runner peels the tag off and places it on their shoes. They then run the race and keep the RFID tag. The SAI Tag is disposable. The race no longer has to worry about collecting chips when the race is done. This SAI Timing system saves event managers and timers many hours of work to prepare and clean up after an event. It also lets participants do what they came to the race to do, compete and go home. They will never again have to stop and be chased down to return a timing device! And on the SAI website it says, The tag is completely weatherproof and will work regardless of rain, heat, storms, humidity or other inclement conditions. And wow, looks like it won't be long before we're using this here in New York City, after all SAI locked down the Philadelphia, Houston, Las Vegas Marathons this year,....and oh yes, they were the timing system for the Honolulu Marathon this past weekend. Let's take a look and see how well it worked, shall we? In a Hawaii based newspaper called the Honolulu Advertiser, writer Michael Tsai wrote, " Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of runners in the 35th Honolulu Marathon had their split and finish times incorrectly or incompletely recorded when the event's new timing system — administered by Michigan-based SAI
Monday, December 10, 2007
Running into The Invisible Man
Yesterday was the Joe Kleinerman 10K, the local "Gold Standard" to gleam the breadth & depth of racing competition in New York City. It's tremendous. This one race parallels the local explosion in popularity & serious competition in running. Just a few years ago the 6:30 min/mile runner would have cracked the top 200 finishers. Yesterday? That same performance would not get y
ou in the top 300. Had I raced yesterday I might have been capable of a 6:20min/mile pace & finished 250th - Emphasis on "might". It's all just talk until you do it - but suffice it to say the competition in New York City is incomparable (in every endeavor in life). But I would have it no other way - I'm motivated to get back into serious training to take my bite out of this Big Apple running scene this Spring. I will be more fit this Spring w/a BMI of 23 than any other previous NYC Spring racing. In fact today I will be right on the NYC Marathon Route - I am going to a ceremony a "street naming" ceremony. New York City is honoring my neighbor today by renaming 5th Avenue from 141st St. to 124th St. after him, all the 5th Ave. street signs will now have another sign bearing his name - which is Percy Sutton - that's him on the right - he's 87 now - and it's people like Percy Sutton that give me my base of knowledge of the history of the NYRR, ya see Percy Sutton was the Manhattan Burough President (mayor) for 11 years & one of the key politicians who orchestrated expanding the New York City Marathon from 4+ loops in Central Park (what the course used to be) to the 5 burough course it is today - the course Percy Sutton and the NYRR had Ted Corbitt lay out. So if you run in the New York City Marathon you will be leaving the Bronx on the 138th St. bridge at mile 21+ and returning back to Manhattan landing in Harlem - turning left heading South on Percy Sutton Avenue (5t
h Avenue). There will be a lot of big wig political types, perhaps the Mayor, etc. and don't worry - I will be sure to give Mary Wittenberg and the New York Road Runners a full report of the ceremony noting how New York City can recognize and commemorate a living legend like Percy Sutton but they can't for Ted Corbitt. The New York Road Runners through the City had the street renamed that the club is located renamed Fred LeBow St. - they know all about street naming y'all. Make no mistake, the New York Road Runners failure to honor and commemorate the legacy of Ted Corbitt is blatant racism - if Ted Corbitt were White he would have a race named for him. If you doubt that - take the Wikipedia test, let's read about those honored with names of NYRR races, shall we?...aaaahhhh there's Joe Kleinerman, Fred Lebow, Al Gordon, Thomas Labrecque, etc. who are these people? Wikipedia should tell the story......then check out Ted Corbitt while you're at it. You know what you'll find?, combined these 4 men are not 1 Ted Corbitt. That's right, combined they do not amount to a Ted Corbitt in any context you want to frame it, Wikipedia check it out yourself. You know what these 4 people are? They're White men, and as such a benefactor of privilege in all sorts of ways. A White woman has to be several orders of magnitude beyond the talent level and capability of her White male peer for comparable due recognition - and there are lots of examples of White women not getting due honor as their male peers. I'm not complaining, I am just calling it for what it is and being real about it.....and I know it makes a lot of people uncomfortable having to acknowledge clear indisputable inequity. I don't have anything against White people - hell I got White people all up and down in my family - you know what I have something against? dumb people! This whole Ted Corbitt issue of mine? I know too damn much - about the real history from the people who 
made the history like that man above, Percy Sutton - and even if you don't know the insiders....you gotta be one dumb motherfucker to go to Wikipedia, read about Joe Kleinerman, Fred Lebow, Al Gordon, and Thomas Labrecque ...then read about Ted Corbitt.....and then explain how and why for the NYRR it's valid and not an inequity to honor and commemorate these 4 men - and not Ted Corbitt. Half those people don't even register on the damn thing [wikipedia] for crissakes. Listen, I know all about all 4 of those men in detail - they merit their day - but so does Ted Corbitt - that's the point. In 1953 Ralph Ellison won the National Book Award with his novel, "The Invisible Man". The novel addresses many of the social and intellectual issues facing the post-civil-war American Black identity. The Invisible Man has an unnamed Black man narrator who considers himself socially invisible. The narrator may be writing as a way to make himself visible to mainstream culture [white people]. The book chronicles the travels of the young Black man as he moves through cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he declares. "I am an invisible man,"in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." Mary Wittenberg and the NYRR have rendered Ted Corbitt an "Invisible Man". I will win NYRR awards in '08 and send them right back to Marry Wittenberg & the NYRR, perhaps with a copy of Ralph Ellison's classic novel - and see if they can connect the dots - I love White people, I can't stand dumb mothefuckers - we're going to find out which camp the NYRR resides in, aren't we? - I'm going to make damn sure Ted Corbitt is visible - this is how I roll. Kudos to New York City for making Percy Sutton a visible man. Have a great day!
ou in the top 300. Had I raced yesterday I might have been capable of a 6:20min/mile pace & finished 250th - Emphasis on "might". It's all just talk until you do it - but suffice it to say the competition in New York City is incomparable (in every endeavor in life). But I would have it no other way - I'm motivated to get back into serious training to take my bite out of this Big Apple running scene this Spring. I will be more fit this Spring w/a BMI of 23 than any other previous NYC Spring racing. In fact today I will be right on the NYC Marathon Route - I am going to a ceremony a "street naming" ceremony. New York City is honoring my neighbor today by renaming 5th Avenue from 141st St. to 124th St. after him, all the 5th Ave. street signs will now have another sign bearing his name - which is Percy Sutton - that's him on the right - he's 87 now - and it's people like Percy Sutton that give me my base of knowledge of the history of the NYRR, ya see Percy Sutton was the Manhattan Burough President (mayor) for 11 years & one of the key politicians who orchestrated expanding the New York City Marathon from 4+ loops in Central Park (what the course used to be) to the 5 burough course it is today - the course Percy Sutton and the NYRR had Ted Corbitt lay out. So if you run in the New York City Marathon you will be leaving the Bronx on the 138th St. bridge at mile 21+ and returning back to Manhattan landing in Harlem - turning left heading South on Percy Sutton Avenue (5t
h Avenue). There will be a lot of big wig political types, perhaps the Mayor, etc. and don't worry - I will be sure to give Mary Wittenberg and the New York Road Runners a full report of the ceremony noting how New York City can recognize and commemorate a living legend like Percy Sutton but they can't for Ted Corbitt. The New York Road Runners through the City had the street renamed that the club is located renamed Fred LeBow St. - they know all about street naming y'all. Make no mistake, the New York Road Runners failure to honor and commemorate the legacy of Ted Corbitt is blatant racism - if Ted Corbitt were White he would have a race named for him. If you doubt that - take the Wikipedia test, let's read about those honored with names of NYRR races, shall we?...aaaahhhh there's Joe Kleinerman, Fred Lebow, Al Gordon, Thomas Labrecque, etc. who are these people? Wikipedia should tell the story......then check out Ted Corbitt while you're at it. You know what you'll find?, combined these 4 men are not 1 Ted Corbitt. That's right, combined they do not amount to a Ted Corbitt in any context you want to frame it, Wikipedia check it out yourself. You know what these 4 people are? They're White men, and as such a benefactor of privilege in all sorts of ways. A White woman has to be several orders of magnitude beyond the talent level and capability of her White male peer for comparable due recognition - and there are lots of examples of White women not getting due honor as their male peers. I'm not complaining, I am just calling it for what it is and being real about it.....and I know it makes a lot of people uncomfortable having to acknowledge clear indisputable inequity. I don't have anything against White people - hell I got White people all up and down in my family - you know what I have something against? dumb people! This whole Ted Corbitt issue of mine? I know too damn much - about the real history from the people who 
made the history like that man above, Percy Sutton - and even if you don't know the insiders....you gotta be one dumb motherfucker to go to Wikipedia, read about Joe Kleinerman, Fred Lebow, Al Gordon, and Thomas Labrecque ...then read about Ted Corbitt.....and then explain how and why for the NYRR it's valid and not an inequity to honor and commemorate these 4 men - and not Ted Corbitt. Half those people don't even register on the damn thing [wikipedia] for crissakes. Listen, I know all about all 4 of those men in detail - they merit their day - but so does Ted Corbitt - that's the point. In 1953 Ralph Ellison won the National Book Award with his novel, "The Invisible Man". The novel addresses many of the social and intellectual issues facing the post-civil-war American Black identity. The Invisible Man has an unnamed Black man narrator who considers himself socially invisible. The narrator may be writing as a way to make himself visible to mainstream culture [white people]. The book chronicles the travels of the young Black man as he moves through cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he declares. "I am an invisible man,"in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." Mary Wittenberg and the NYRR have rendered Ted Corbitt an "Invisible Man". I will win NYRR awards in '08 and send them right back to Marry Wittenberg & the NYRR, perhaps with a copy of Ralph Ellison's classic novel - and see if they can connect the dots - I love White people, I can't stand dumb mothefuckers - we're going to find out which camp the NYRR resides in, aren't we? - I'm going to make damn sure Ted Corbitt is visible - this is how I roll. Kudos to New York City for making Percy Sutton a visible man. Have a great day!
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