A Note on the Deaths at Philadelphia

(from Runner's World Daily Blog)

Nicol:  First of all, I want to give my condolences to the families who have lost these special people in their lives.  It's hard to think that one minute you are running a marathon and the next it is something very different and something that you do not expect.

I read this blog entry this morning and as a runner it is really hard to swallow but this has been happening over the past few years.  Running a marathon is a huge risk if you do not train or your body is not use to that kind of pounding and distance but like "everything" that we get involved in, it's a choice and a risk as well.

I am not doctor but I have been a runner for over 25 years.  I have told several clients and beginners to take it easy at first, get a physical from your doctor and inform him/her what you want to do.  I do recommend going to a doctor that understands exercise, running and the love of starting a new sport.  Also, make sure you regulate your food intake, get enough protein, water and fuel to keep yourself going.  

Remember, these incidents with runners do not happen every day.  There may be something in their "health" history that they just were not aware of.  Just like riding a bike or taking a walk, you don't know what will happen during that form of exercise.  If you have been running for a while or just getting started "SEE YOUR DOCTOR", understand your health risks and monitor yourself, no matter how healthy you may think you are.

Happy Running!

November 20, 2011 (from RW daily blog)

Two runners collapsed and died at the Philadelphia Marathon today.

At this point, I'm not sure what else I can say. For one thing, there isn't much more information available yet; all officials are saying, pending the notification of relatives, is that one victim was 21 years old and the other was 40 and that they fell at or near the finish line.

The other reason I'm not sure what else to say is… well… What can you say in a situation like this? It's heartbreaking and tragic and makes absolutely no sense.

I first heard about the deaths from an old friend I met for lunch after the race.

"Did you know two runners died?" my friend asked my wife and me when he walked up to us outside the restaurant. It was a gorgeous day, warm for November. Overall, it had seemed like a great race on a great day.

"What?" I said. "Wait. Here? In Philly?"

It was news to me. I couldn't believe it. I still can't.

It's hard to resist the impulse to get defensive in these situations, to brace ourselves for the inevitable knee-jerk reactions from family, friends, and coworkers — even total strangers — who don't run and who now will be more convinced than ever that "running will kill you."  Hey, just look at the headlines, right?

Especially these past several months. This issue, death during races, is one that's come up lately way more than anybody would like. Our Sports Doc blogger, Bill Roberts, just wrote about it last week, urging runners to use caution but also putting things in context and concluding that "distance running is not a high-risk activity for cardiac events and over a lifetime you will gain more benefit from running than those who are sedentary for fear of having a cardiac arrest while running."

No doubt this is true. And no doubt an awful lot of non-runners will never read those words, much less take them to heart.

I'm not here to challenge those people and to launch a defense of distance running and racing. Not today.

Today I'm here to say, simply: Bless the men who died today in Philadelphia, and bless their friends and families.

My next run is dedicated to them.