Posts Tagged ‘marathons’

Friday Five: Factoids From RunningUSA’s Marathon Report

RunningUSA published its annual marathon report and while the headlines focused on the record 507,000 people who completed marathons in 2010, there were some other interesting items of note.

1) The age distribution of male and female finishers is remarkably different. The men are just about equally divided into thirds – under 35, 35-44, 45 and older. A third of the women are between 35 and 44, but 46% are under 35 and only 23% are 45 and older.

2) While finishing times were significantly slower than in 1980 or even 1995, finishing times for both men and women in 2009 and 2010 were faster than they were in the previous five years.

3) Those surveyed purchased, on average, four pairs of running shoes in 2010, while running an average of 30 miles per week.

4) Two of the slowest median finishing times occurred in marathons in the state of Hawaii (Honolulu and Maui). The Honolulu Marathon had 8,155 participants who needed more than six hours to finish.

5) Masters runners (40+ years of age) made up 46% of all marathon finishers, but 56% of the finishers at the Boston Marathon.

Flash! Going from Couch to Marathon Not the Best Fitness Strategy

The Wall Street Journal has an article this morning headlined “The Fleeting Benefits of Marathons,” which I originally thought was going to be about the fleeting economic benefits of marathons, it being the Wall Street Journal and all. No, it’s a health piece, and since the Wall Street Journal is a pay site and I don’t want hear from them about copyright infringement, I’ll merely excerpt the highlights:

Fitness and dietary experts say marathons increasingly are the exercise equivalent of crash diets, with similarly disappointing results. There’s no evidence that running a marathon leads to lasting weight loss, marathon researchers say. And it’s unknown how often such runs initiate or perpetuate a lifetime of steady exercise. Indeed, in a long-term fitness sense, marathons are really sprints; the true marathon is the exercise program that lasts for decades, fitness experts say.

And:

Without question, participants who remain steady runners after finishing a marathon enjoy seemingly impressive benefits. Continuing scientific research suggests that consistent long-distance running not only improves cardiovascular health—a well-known benefit—but also lowers the risk of disorders of the eye and prostate, among other organs.

Still, even as the medical case mounts for people to get more vigorous exercise, behavioral studies are showing that hard-to-sustain regimens and painful routines can diminish the will to work out. Increasingly, public-health officials are questioning the value of the so-called boot-camp approach to working out. “The best can be the barrier to the good,” says Heather Chambliss, a University of Memphis professor specializing in exercise motivation.

And:

In a sport where 40% of runners are first-time participants, most won’t make a lifestyle out of running marathons, because of waning interest, a busy schedule or vulnerability to injury. “A good number of runners do a marathon and don’t come back to it,” says Ryan Lamppa, spokesman for Running USA.

None of this is very surprising. Unless marathon training is part of your lifestyle and not just a one-time event, you are simply beating up your body for the psychic benefits. I’m not sure anyone is suggesting that getting off the couch and running a single marathon magically transforms you into a fit human being.

The Worst Marathon Anecdote Ever Told

This comes courtesy of Terry Cooke of the Hamilton Spectator and needs no further embellishment:

The low point of that race for me came at about mile 22 when the poor guy just in front of me lost control of his bowels and pooped all over my running shoes.

No Mulligans in Marathons

The Golf Blogger had his dog-walking interrupted by the Cleveland Marathon and had this to say:

Marathon running as a spectator sport can’t be as exciting as the cheering people on the sidewalks make it out to be. It exceeds golf as the most boring spectator sport. At least, the spectator of a golf match can walk along and see the entire match and doesn’t have to run along for 26.2 miles. What is the attraction? There are very few crashes, as in auto racing, the fans of which lust for conflagrations on the track. But the fans were out there, many yelling, generically, as it were, “Go, runners!” What kind of cheer is that? At least, they could be more personal, “Go, Runner Five Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty-Seven, Go!” or “Run your ass off, Steve!” There must be at least one runner named Steve in the group.

I admit that seeing crashes in marathons would be pretty cool (although, like auto racers, runners do “hit the wall.” Ha-ha-ha! I kill myself). But Golf Blogger has got to be kidding me. There are a million reasons why watching marathons is WAY more interesting than watching golf. Here’s just one.

This is a photo of a marathoner:

And this is a photo of a golfer:

I rest my case.

Today’s training update: 5k time = 26:10.

Always Overdressing for the Wrong Occasions

OK, this “world record for running a marathon dressed as a (fill-in-the-blank) character” is getting out of hand.

It was good news for Ryan Desgrange, who completed the Glass City Marathon in 3:04:48 dressed as Rocky Balboa. Ryan won his age group.

But it was bad news for Guy Cockroft, who ran a very good 3:38:29 in the London Marathon while dressed as the Cat in the Hat. Unfortunately Guy was edged out by Darren Stone, who finished with a 3:36:07 while dressed as Bananaman.

“I checked on the internet because I wasn’t sure how the other cartoon characters had done,” Stone said. “I scouted out before that Danger Mouse would be my main competitor but I have heard that I’ve got the record.”

Danger Mouse could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Paul Simons ran a 2:55 dressed as Santa Claus, Jack Lyons managed a 4:22 dressed as a leprechaun, and Sally Orange squeezed across the finish in 4:32 dressed as, well, an orange.

Things didn’t go as well for the poor slob in the pack mule outfit, who DNF’ed.

We Can Have Lots of Good Fun That Is Funny

Last week I told you about Ryan Desgrange, who was about to run the Glass City Marathon dressed as Rocky Balboa in an attempt to become the fastest marathoner dressed as a film character.

Evidently there is an entirely different category for marathoners dressed as cartoon characters – a mark Guy Cockroft will attempt to set in Sunday’s London Marathon. Guy will be dressed as The Cat in the Hat.

“I’ve told myself I’m going to do it but I think half the battle is psychological,” he said.

No word on whether Guy will hop up and down on a ball with two books in one hand and a cup on his head with a cake, and milk on a dish with a fish on a rake.

Banning Teenagers from Marathons?

I wasn’t aware that among its many other restrictions the Boston Marathon requires runners to be at least 18 years of age. A news story quotes a track coach as saying that letting someone under the age of 16 do a marathon is “a form of parental abuse.”

I wonder what Rich Hanna would say about that. Here’s a photo of Rich completing the 1977 Sacramento Marathon in 3:01:14. Rich was 13 at the time and ran the race after a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs. He went on to a distinguished career in ultra-running and still kicks major ass when he races today.