Category Archives: Information

Maasai Take on London

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Maasai Warriors from Tanzania will be taking on the London Marathon this weekend to raise awareness and funds for their home villages. According to the BBC, six warriors will compete in the race to provide safe drinking water for their village.

The warriors will not cave into modern technology such as shoes or tech running clothes, instead they will run in their traditional clothing, which includes using old tires for shoes. I guess they are following the principal of not trying anything new on race day!

The Maasai lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle where cows are a valued asset.

They are known for their running abilities and traditionally live on a diet featuring blood and milk.

Isaya, who is leading the Maasai team, said previously: “Our elders told us that we can do it because we have been running all over for killing a lion and herding cattle.

“We can help them by getting them clean water so right now all of us are training very hard because we want to do it to make life easier for the Maasai people.”

So far the group has raised about L13,000 (British Pounds) it is estimated that the project will cost between 20,000 – 60,000 British Pounds to provide safe drinking water. The Massai Marathon is made possible through a conservation/development group called Greenforce. They have created a website that is dedicated to raising money and keeping in touch with supporters.

You can also see their official YouTube video:

On a related note Yahoo! News is reporting that the Massai diet and fluid strategy is to drink cow’s blood.

They will run in traditional dress — a red “shuka” blanket toga and car-tire sandals — carrying spears and shields showing their running numbers, and will sing and dance along the 26.2 mile route through the British capital.

“And we will do the whole marathon with no water,” Isaya adds. “We often travel for many days, eating only twice a day, and we have no water.”

“If we have no milk or meat, we cut the cow’s neck and let out the blood to drink. If I drink enough blood — maybe two or three liters — it gives me a lot of energy and I can go for days without food or water.”

Their goal time is under 4:30.

[tags] London Marathon, Maasai, Africa, Greenforce, Marathon [/tags]

Cause of Death for Wisconsin Marathoner Determined

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Doctors have determined the cause of death for Adam Nickel, 27 of Madison Wisconsin. You may recall that Nickel died March 2, shortly after completing the Little Rock Marathon.

The Pioneer Press reports that:

a post-mortem examination showed Nickel had “multifocal small coronary artery fibromuscular dysplasia,” or microscopically small heart arteries that tended to restrict the flow of blood, said Dr. Stephen J. Erickson, a pathologist with the state Crime Laboratory who was one of two doctors who conducted the autopsy.

In addition, Nickel’s narrow arteries were located near nodes that regulate electrical pulses in the heart and, combined with electrolyte abnormalities seen in long-distance runners upon completing a race, caused Nickel’s sudden death, Erickson said.

The small arteries are usually seen in older people, not someone in their 20’s.  The doctor’s said that based on their conclusion Nickel died in a matter of seconds and didn’t faint or blackout like would normally happen.  In some sense this is a medical perfect storm of conditions.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Nickel family.

[tags] Marathon,  Little Rock,  Adam Nickel [/tags]

Catch The Spirit

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If you still haven’t seen the Spirit of the Marathon, you still have a chance. At least if you live in select cities. Or live in Canada. I’ve talked about it before and here. They are continuing their focused release parties.

The next one is in Canada on April 9th. Then it will be shown before major races throughout the year before the DVD is released. Highlights of the schedule include:

Boston – April 17st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

Nashville – April 24th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

Indianapolis – May 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

Chicago – October 9th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

Washington DC – October 23rd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

New York City – October 30th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM

So I guess you may still get a chance to see it, and I would highly recommend that you do. Be sure to check out their website to learn more.

[tags] Marathon, Spirit of the Marathon, Movie [/tags]

Importance of the Push-Up

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What is the best test of fitness? Running a mile all out? Running a 400? Or is it maxing out on the bench? Maybe even sprinting a 40. Or your vertical leap?

I would never claim that a push-up is the best test of someone’s fitness. But I’m just a dude sitting in Minnesota, what do I know?

The New York Times claims that:

The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.

I agree push-ups can be difficult but come on, surely there is something else we can use to judge fitness levels.

But many people simply can’t do push-ups. Health and fitness experts, including the American College of Sports Medicine, have urged more focus on upper-body fitness. The aerobics movement has emphasized cardiovascular fitness but has also shifted attention from strength training exercises.

I would agree with that. I think on any given day I can easily whip out 15 push-ups (without a break) no problem! What about you?

[tags] Push-ups, Fitness [/tags]

A Controversy of Stretching

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I recently reported that I signed up to be included in a USATF sponsored Stretch Study, which is looking at a broad cross section of regular runners to determine if stretching before running (and warming up) helps prevent or causes injuries. A recent New York Times article actually looks into some of the current research around athletes and stretching and comes up with a conclusive answer that isn’t very conclusive!

That doesn’t make any sense does it? Well it seems that the body of current research is very mixed about the importance of stretching and is actually beginning to lean towards the idea that stretching doesn’t actually help an athlete perform better. But when the reporter asked the various researchers if they stretched or not – all of them did!

It has been bantered about in the running community for awhile and more people are beginning to shy away from so called “static stretching” where you hold a stretch for 10 seconds and leaning towards something called “active or dynamic stretching” where you take you muscles through a range of motion and hold any one position for at most 3 seconds.

If your goal is to prevent injury, Dr. Gilchrist said, stretching does not seem to be enough. Warming up, though, can help. If you start out by moving through a range of motions that you’ll use during activity, you are less likely to be injured.

Runners often think that flexibility is important, even to the point of spending hours stretching and doing yoga. One quoted study actually found that…

…distance runners do not benefit from being flexible, he found. The most efficient runners, those who exerted the least effort to maintain a pace, were the stiffest.

A private practice orthopediest went so far to say “If stretching was a drug, it would be recalled,” Dr. Kenny said. He claims that stretching actually weakens performance and increases risk of injury.

So what does all of this really mean? Who knows! I think as with much in this life moderation is the key. If you spend lots of time focusing on stretching – it might be better spent somewhere else. You need to find what works best for your body but the extremes probably don’t work for anyone!

Do you stretch? When do you stretch? Take the poll (on the right) and let us know!

[tags] Stretching, Stretch, Training, Research, Running [/tags]

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