Can Running Kill You? (part 2)

Triathletes, marathon runners' extreme slog could wear out hearts, research suggests

The long bouts of hard exercise done by triathletes and marathon runners may be trimming years off their lives by causing tiny tears within their hearts, emerging research suggests.

Runners have occasionally dropped dead during a marathon, but now US heart specialists have assembled evidence indicating long-term problems may be building up for many more endurance athletes.

Can Running Kill You? (part 1)

In a five-kilometer race Thanksgiving morning, Ralph Foiles finished first in his age group, earning the 56-year-old Kansan a winner's medal.

Or was it a booby prize?

Bono Busking in Dublin

Running with God

 

When Christian Blanchard crossed the finish line at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville last weekend, he pointed upward and, neither elated nor disappointed, thought, "Oh, I just finished a marathon. Thanks, God."

He crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles in 3:28:21 -- placing first in his age group of 19 and under.

Blanchard is 17.

Barefoot Running Will Strengthen Your Feet

Every Friday morning for the past six months, Shelly Kannel and Jon Braunersreuther have stopped after running five of their six one-mile speed intervals on a high school track, removed their running shoes and dashed the last mile barefoot. But only one mile.

The idea, they say, is to strengthen their feet and lower legs. And it's worked.

The Anthropology of Long-Distance Running

The marathon likely began not in Greece, but on the vast savannahs of Africa some two million years ago. Under a beating equatorial sun, the runners would have plunged through the grass, aiming toward a column of circling buzzards many miles in the distance. Beneath the buzzards lay a fresh kill. And the runners -- our distant ancestors -- would have been racing the clock for survival: If they were fast, they would find food for their families; but if they were slow, they would find only bones, picked clean by other scavengers.

Running is My ... Life

The long winter months take a heavy toll on the recreational athlete. Many let their running shoes gather dust in closets or allow their bicycles to lean dejectedly against cellar walls. They resign themselves to watching their sleek lines grow softer, and some may even be grateful for the rest.

Getting a Date at the Gym

What's the single largest grumble from gym-going males? It has nothing to do with feeling the burn, the lack of cardio machines, or the questionable stains on those complimentary shower towels. Surprise! It's how to talk to women who work out.

85 year old passes 50,000 mile marker

Paul Merriman's seven grown children have arrived from as far away as Vermont to celebrate their 85-year-old father's having run 50,000 miles.

They've set up a portable canopy in Memorial Park and lined a section of the new Outer Loop Trail with Burma Shave-style signs - "See Paul run! 50,000." A whimsical cake decorated with a runner in a red shirt, sweat band and socks sits on a table, surrounded by individual Rice Krispies treats shaped to spell out "Paul's 50,000." There's a banner, too, and everyone is taking photos of each other in their red "Paul Merriman's 50,000th Mile" T-shirts.

Running is Such a Great Sport

Tucsonans getting ready for Sunday's marathon

Marathons are not just for the young and agile.

Athletes of all ages will hit the pavement Sunday during the 26.2- mile Jim Click Tucson Marathon, the Gadabout Marathon Relay and the 13.1-mile Lute and Bobbi Olson Half-Marathon.

Started at age 50

Beverly Schulz estimates that she has run 20 marathons - in addition to two 50-milers and a half-dozen triathlons - all in the last nine years.