The elite runners who made our 2012 Olympic marathon team deserve all the accolades they get, but one marathoner who didn’t come close to making the team deserves a moment in the spotlight as well.
This weekend Wardian did something worthy of a superhero. On Saturday, he ran in the Olympic marathon trials, finishing in 62nd place with a 2:21:50. On Sunday, he ran in the Chevron Houston Marathon, finishing in 16th place with a 2:31:17.
“I just like to show people you can do more than you think you can do,” Wardian said. “That’s a pretty neat thing. I have all the responsibilities that everyone who’s not a professional runner has. I have to go to work in the morning. I have a family. And I can still come out on the weekend and make a good effort and run a marathon.”
4 comments - What do you think? Posted by
Mike -
January 16, 2012 at 11:07
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that runners are no more likely to suffer cardiac arrests during marathons than they are performing any other physical activity. Those who had cardiac events during races were more likely to survive if CPR was administered.
The Boston Marathon has 28 medical tents, roving teams of volunteers with portable defibrillators every half-mile, and is now training runners and spectators in basic CPR during the marathon expo.
As someone who has both run marathons and suffered a heart attack – though not at the same time – I’m glad all these safety measures are in place. I just find it strangely amusing to have all these precautions for healthy people who are surrounded by thousands of onlookers. Every single one of those marathoners is at much more risk of dying while out alone during an early morning training run than during a race. And while you don’t run with a defibrillator (although I did for a short time), you should at least have a cell phone, road ID, and a list of medications and allergies when you run. I like running through lonely, deserted areas more than most people do, but you are at greater risk if something bad happens.
I didn’t require a CPR team, but the best place for one would have been my living room. I ran 5k the day before my heart attack, and swam laps that morning. The heart attack hit while I was moving furniture – a cat condo, to be exact.
Statistically, I’d be more interested in a study that compares cardiac events during a marathon with cardiac events in similarly sized, non-athletic crowds in one place for a similar amount of time – say, the spectators at a football game or rock concert. My non-scientific sample indicates you’re as likely to die from a heart attack while attending a Patriots game as you are while running the Boston Marathon.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
Mike -
January 12, 2012 at 12:05
Courtesy of Karla Bruning. As with everything else Disney does, race organizing is bigger than life. Not too many other road races have to account for the sleeping habits of lions and rhinos.
There is no outrage like that expressed as the lead story on the local news, as WKYC-TV in Chardon, Ohio, “investigates” an egg nog mile run at the local high school. The assistant cross country coach shot video of the run and is heard laughing at the inevitable puking.
In what looks like a bad episode of Glee, someone (from Finland!) sends the video to the local news station, which corners the school principal (who declares himself “appalled”), and then sends a reporter to stand in a gazebo in the middle of the night for some reason to broadcast his ”exclusive” report on the “disturbing” video, after which the coach is apparently suspended from her job.
The elite runners who made our 2012 Olympic marathon team deserve all the accolades they get, but one marathoner who didn’t come close to making the team deserves a moment in the spotlight as well.
