Sacramento Running News

You wake up on Thanksgiving morning and realize it’s only a matter of hours before you’ll be forced to endure another retelling of your father-in-law’s story about that time in college when he and his drunken buddies carried the Volkswagen beetle into the physics lecture hall.

Or maybe you’re dreading your aunt Murtle’s terrible political opinions and her even worse lime jello salad, as well as your annoying vegan cousin and her endless muttering about “meat is murder.”

Perhaps you’re lucky, and looking forward to a house-full of wonderful people and great food, but would like a bit of exercise to start the day.

There are many reasons to join your  friends and neighbors for an organized run on Thanksgiving morning. Fortunately, in this region, there are so many Thanksgiving Day races you have no excuse not to run one.

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A bit of the Parkway Trail

It looks like there is some levee repair work going on along the South Side of the American River between Watt Ave and Larchmont Park.

The Army Corps of Engineers says the trail along the top of the levee will be closed until approximately November 30th.

This probably won’t affect traffic much along the Parkway, since the trail ends at Larchmont and there is very little through traffic anyway.  (Most Parkway users will be on the North side of the river.)

Be sure to plan accordingly!

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Most of us who like to train have been asked from time to time by our non-running friends or relatives, “Isn’t all that running hard on your body?”

We assure them that no, it’s great. We might even confess that if we weren’t able to run, we would likely find some less healthy way of shaking off the bad moods, anxiety, and general craziness.

The fact is, that while there is good science showing the benefits of high volumes of exercise in general, the data regarding the impacts of ultra-distance training is muddled.

You now have the opportunity to help inform the debate with your in-laws about the impact of all your running.

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People seem to either love or hate, or love to hate, Christopher McDougall, the author of Born to Run and fierce advocate of minimalist running.

He recently wrote an article for New York Times magazine about an interesting exercise, called “100 ups,” that he believes will help your running.

In the article, McDougall recognizes the important fact that people can, and do run barefoot and still have terrible form.

Here’s the video. I’d be interested to hear back from anyone who tries the exercises.

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Unless there is some egregious error in a post, I almost never revisit something I’ve written here.

Last week, I wrote Going Big, which was a lamentation of sorts on the state of the marathon.

The article was triggered by my reading a newspaper story about Chris Spangenberg’s attempt to set a world record for being the heaviest person to ever complete a marathon. This story sparked considerable, energetic reactions in a number of people.

What was most fascinating to me was how my post served as a sort of Rorschach ink blot for the readers. Many readers resonated with my concerns about the sport, while others saw it as an attack on a specific individual (i.e., Mr. Spangenberg) or slower runners.

In truth, the irritation and frustration that I was trying to express was with two specific issues: the press for not covering running in any meaningful way, and the “marathon training industry” that has sold the idea that everyone can and should run a marathon.

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It looks like living in Redding is agreeing with the Halls, well, Sara at least. She won gold in the 3000 meter steeple at the Pan American Games this past Sunday.

If you want to see one of North America’s top runners putting the hurt on the competition, you can watch the video.

Does a 200,000 square foot office building belong here?

Regular readers will remember that we’ve already written about the gigantic, flood control facility proposed for construction along the American River Parkway, at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

The proposal is still alive and kicking, and today’s Bee includes an article with some important information about the project.

Most of us who use the Parkway are concerned about adding significant traffic to an area already congested with vehicle traffic (Hazel Avenue and US 50), as well as impinging on a major recreation and bicycle commuting route.

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Things have changed for women runners!

There are a couple of recent articles about women runners of note that are delightful in their juxtaposition, in what they say about women’s running.

First off was a New York Times article about women’s running pioneer Dr. Julia Chase-Brand.

On Thanksgiving Day, Dr. Julia Chase-Brand, 69, plans to run a 4.75-mile race in Manchester, Conn., where the presence of women will be plentiful and unremarkable. Fifty years ago, when she and two other women ran there the first time, it was a widely publicized act of civil disobedience that became a pioneering moment in female distance running in the United States.

Not only was she pushing against the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) prohibitions against women competing in road races, she was fast. Starting a block behind the rest of the runners (to avoid race officials), she still managed a 33:40 for that run.

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This picture has nothing to do with the story.

When I read the Press Democrat’s article about Chris Spangenberg’s attempt at this past weekend’s Cloverdale Harvest Marathon to set a world record for being the heaviest marathon finisher, my first reaction was: “Our sport is dead.”

This story bothers me on a number of fronts. The 425 pound man who trudged the course in 13 hours and 45 minutes gets an entire newspaper article about his efforts, but the winner–Sacramento’s own Ray “I’ll run anything” Sanchez–gets nary a mention. While this certainly took some effort, it is not running. It’s not even brisk walking.

There is something disturbing about the fact that Spangenberg put in all this effort and training to complete the event and probably did nothing to improve his health or enjoyment of life. He began his training with the stated intent of being the heaviest man to ever complete a marathon, and only lost 20 lbs in the process. At the end of that long effort, he’s still morbidly obese and still facing a life-time of poor health and discomfort.

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While not necessarily saying he’s not legit, the folks at the Guinness World Records are not accepting Fauja Singh’s record for the oldest marathon finisher since he cannot produce a birth certificate. 

Singh’s supporters say that birth certificates weren’t available in India 1911.

WMA is still recognizing his track and field records since they accept a passport as proof of age. Of course this raises an interesting question regarding the quality of WMA’s records.

How many other record times are suspect?