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Old article, but currently on my mind. Seriously, what is the deal with the recent (maybe not?) obsession with running? Bumper stickers, run for this, run for that, Facebook postings on how far people ran...I have to say it is annoying me just a tad. Not so much the running I guess, but the obsession and posting about it. Am I just a grump?
1 posted on 05/20/2014 9:51:59 AM PDT by Phillyred
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To: Phillyred

Because walking it takes too long.


2 posted on 05/20/2014 9:52:26 AM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: Phillyred
"Unless a pack of wolves is chasing me, or there is a sale at Dairy Queen, there's no reason for me to run anywhere, let alone do a marathon".

Yep that's me!

3 posted on 05/20/2014 9:54:42 AM PDT by defconw (Well now what?)
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To: Phillyred

I don’t really know....I just remember some Iron Woman something or other woman who just had to run, run, run...

In this particular event, she couldn’t keep up and pushed. She pushed until she shat all over herself and collapsed right there. I sometimes wonder what kind of person she actually is and how she is with those around her.


4 posted on 05/20/2014 9:55:51 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Phillyred

Friend of mine started biking (road) at 52 and went all in within three years. He’ll 100 miles each day on Sat. and Sun., and then 40ish miles each day during the week.

Joined a local bike club, got a new set of friends and is really in shape. Does not hang with any of his old friends.

Hey, it’s his life.


5 posted on 05/20/2014 9:56:13 AM PDT by PeteB570 ( Islam is the sea in which the Terrorist Shark swims. The deeper the sea the larger the shark.)
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To: Phillyred
Why is it that seemingly normal people turn 30 and then feel compelled to start training for marathons?
I turned 40, then ran my first marathon. Why 40? Because I didn't wait until I turned 50 to attempt it.
6 posted on 05/20/2014 9:56:33 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: Phillyred

Runners may be obsessed, but they beat cyclists any day of the week.

(ducking)


7 posted on 05/20/2014 9:57:17 AM PDT by workerbee (The President of the United States is DOMESTIC ENEMY #1!)
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To: Phillyred

I’ll start running when I see a runner smiling.


8 posted on 05/20/2014 9:58:13 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Phillyred

my son, and more recently my daughter-in-law, are into it ... and both are edging ever closer to 50. the only thing that bothers me about it is when when they gripe, seek sympathy, or brag about their aches, pains, and injuries.


9 posted on 05/20/2014 9:58:23 AM PDT by TheRightGuy (I want MY BAILOUT ... a billion or two should do!)
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To: Phillyred

Running, especially jogging, is very hard on the joints.

I walk about 12 miles a week to burn calories, offsetting my office chair hours.

I’ve lost 25 pounds in the last 3 months, doing this and lifting weights. I’d like to lose another 15.

If I ever feel the need to start running (to burn those calories faster), I will sprint, not jog. Sprinting for 100-200 yds until I can’t keep sprinting. Then I’ll walk until I can sprint again.


10 posted on 05/20/2014 10:00:01 AM PDT by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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FR Needs Donors To Survive

Please Donate!

11 posted on 05/20/2014 10:00:35 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: Phillyred

ever heard of this dedicated runner?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk6QZY5G_b8


13 posted on 05/20/2014 10:03:08 AM PDT by MNDude
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To: Phillyred

I began running Triathlons at age 49. I have done about 8-9 Sprints, but will not even think about a full or even a half Iron man. I did it to inspire my wife that was recovering from Central Nervous system Lyme’s disease. The Doctor said she needed to exercise so I signed us up at the Y.


14 posted on 05/20/2014 10:03:23 AM PDT by verga (Conservative, leaning libertatrian)
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To: Phillyred

Running keeps me feeling young. I’m 48. I tell my 16 y/o daughter and her friends I just ran 8 miles and they think I’m a freak. I love it. That said, RUNNING IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. And that’s okay. Walk, ride a bike, play tennis. It’s all good. I like the challenge of running.


15 posted on 05/20/2014 10:03:48 AM PDT by ryan71 (The Partisans)
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To: Phillyred

The only running I do is ... running late.


18 posted on 05/20/2014 10:08:09 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Phillyred

Myslef and most of my friends are in our early 30’s and we all, independently of each other, took up different forms of exercise right after 30. Be it running, weight lifting, cross fit, or biking we are all doing something now we were not doing before turning 30. My dime store psychology says its to prove to ourselves we still can ;-)


23 posted on 05/20/2014 10:13:55 AM PDT by RightOnTheBorder
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To: Phillyred

I took up running last year after never having even run to the mailbox in all the prior years.

I went from no running ever to running for fun. I do the occasional 5k and 10k and plan on training for my first Half (13.1 miles) which takes place in October.

For me, it’s all about the camaraderie. I train with others that I met through the running programs, and we don’t try to break any records, we just have fun. No injuries so far, but like I said, we do it for fun so we aren’t going that fast lol.


24 posted on 05/20/2014 10:15:01 AM PDT by Reddy (bo stinks)
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To: Phillyred

Personal experience which led to running marathons: In the late winter of 1977 my father-in-law mentioned to me that Spring Lake (Mrs. JimRed’s hometown and our residence at that time) would be having a five mile race on the Monday of Memorial Day weekend. I had been running a little to stay fit for skiing and rec basketball, but hadn’t really trained since high school, so I decided to start a workout program to get ready to try it.

It hurt like heck (warm day, out too fast at the start, rookie mistakes) but I managed to finish 125th of about 500 in 33:15. I had nothing to compare it to, so I was surprised when some guys in my age group (30-35) who were regular racers told me I’d finished ahead of them. That was the incentive to train regularly, and to enter more races that summer.

Eventually I was breaking 30 minutes for five miles regularly, and over the next year and a half tried 5k and 10k races, an 8 mile up and down Garrett Mountain (Paterson, NJ) and a half marathon. 27 races all told, but entry fees were cheap then! I was HOOKED!

The marathon was the logical progression in the series of challenges. On 30-50 miles a week and a longest training run of 15 miles, I finished my first in 3:22:15 at Philadelphia. Hooked again! Now the goal was three hours, another challenge. Then the goal was Boston, needing a sub- 2:50:00 to qualify. Squeezed out a 2:48:45, then finished Boston the following spring in 2:56:57.

Bottom line: It’s all about the challenge and improving. And an occasional age group trophy or medal is nice, too!


36 posted on 05/20/2014 10:39:38 AM PDT by JimRed (Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed & water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS NOW & FOREVER!)
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To: Phillyred

37 posted on 05/20/2014 10:40:03 AM PDT by mc5cents (Pray for America)
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To: Phillyred

As someone who has been jogging since 1971, I think running has gone way down in popularity.

I don’t know the statistics. But if I go shopping for real running shoes, they are a lot harder to find. Most athletic shorts are basketball style, where there used to be racks of shorts good for actually DOING something.

And when I was in college (think 1970s), lots of folks jogged. I finished a math class at the local community college this spring, and there were not many students who looked capable of jogging very far from their computer screen...or their donuts.


40 posted on 05/20/2014 10:44:36 AM PDT by Mr Rogers (I sooooo miss America!)
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To: Phillyred

Humans are fond of extreme sports. Marathons gave way to Ironman competitions and other extreme-distance extreme-conditions races. It’s all part of the “climb Mt Everest” mentality.

Last year a couple ran a marathon every day. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/01/01/elderly-couple-ran-a-marathon-every-day-of-2013/
Not entirely unheard of, there are other groups that perform long-distance runs on a frequent basis (look up “marathon monks” and related research).


44 posted on 05/20/2014 10:48:46 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ("If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun" - Obama, setting RoE with his opposition)
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