Extra, Extra - Run All About It

By Peter Washkowitz

Dear readers, let's take a look back at the week in running:

* As reported in the Desert News (Salt Lake City, UT) on April 26th, one unlucky Draper resident certainly had a blazing workout last Sunday. Once finished with his treadmill workout in his family's basement, the resident's (the article never names him) treadmill caught fire and quickly filled the first two floors of his home with smoke. After Unified Fire Authority Captain Sandy Storms and his team reached the scene and verified that the fire was out, the six-member family were told that they could stay in their home. The article never made clear whether the treadmill was completely damaged or whether it could be used again.

* As reported on ContactMusic.com on April 28th, while rapper Eminem may have starred in the movie Eight Mile, he certainly loves to run much further. After returning from a much needed hiatus, Eminem embarked on a health kick to shed some extra pounds and began running on a treadmill. Eventually, quite like myself, Eminem's workouts turned from a daily fitness regimen into an all out obsession until he finally realized that, "I've been running a lot, taking care of myself. A lot of cardio. I'm actually at the point where I think I've been a little obsessive compulsive about running on a treadmill. Yeah, it got up to four miles a day, then it got up to six, then I got up to 10, then I got up to 15, then I got up to 17, and I had to take a break". Now on a new hiatus from his workout routines, Eminem now just tries to eat healthy while staying away from the obsession-inducing allure of the treadmill. His favorite chicken recipe: freestyle chicken!!

* As reported in the Seattle Times on April 29th, Seattle resident Garry Keates' trip to the marriage alter was more difficult than for most other men. Why? Because it was a 24 mile trip!! Last Sunday, Garry Keates began the London Marathon with his fiancee Rachel Pitt. However, as Keates passed the marathon's finish line, he did so with his wife Rachel Keates. You see, dear readers, upon reaching the 24th mile marker, Keates and Pitt made a detour from the marathon's course and ran (literally) into St. Bride's Church and took their marital vows, had their first kiss as man and wife and ran (literally) back onto the marathon's course to finish the remaining 2.2 miles. As a first-time marathoner, Keates (the man) perhaps thought that getting married at the 24th mile point would provide enough motivation to help him through the course and, later stated that, "There were moments when I just wanted to go home and wondered why we'd put ourselves through this. ... It's been the best day of my life, but I'll never do it again". Congrats, Garry and Rachel!!! Both for finishing the London Marathon and for getting hitched towards the end while still being able to finish it!!

* As reported on AZCentral.com (Arizona) on April 30th, when the finances of the Phoenix gym Competitive Fitness began to suffer, it was the very people it had gotten healthy who helped it get healthy as well.....financially healthy! When Jason Speck opened Competitive Fitness less than a year ago, the business ran on a prepaid membership of $2,000 a year and offered new members completely custom designed written workouts scaled to fit the individual needs of everybody. After Speck was forced to switch to monthly billing as the economy soured and he desperately needed a positive cash flow, he began to offer shares in the gym to its members. Quicker than Speck's fastest treadmill could reach its fastest speed, gym members Thomas and Julie Brooks of Gilbert, Joe and Darcy Nichols of Queen Creek, and Jon and Krista Clark stepped up and invested in Competitive Fitness believing in the place so much and having gotten so much out of it themselves. Speck hopes to be able to pay back each of the couples by the end of the year and was almost moved to tears by their generosity. While this story certainly enforces to notion of 'health begets health", I think it also goes to show just how important gyms are to the people who use them most. In the end, Thomas Brooks best summed up his family's relationship with the gym when he stated that, "I think of it as a family; we look forward to seeing each other...".

* As reported in the Mercury News (San Jose, CA) on May 1st, perhaps in an effort to make a big splash at her health club, a female member of Monterey's Garden Fitness accidentally drove her car into the facility's pool yesterday. Getting ready to leave the gym, this unnamed lady mistakenly hit her car's accelerator, drove the car through a barrier, down a 15-foot embankment and into the unoccupied pool. Fortunately (both for the driver and for all other members of the gym), nobody was in the pool at the time and the lady was able to get out of the car uninjured. The article made no mention of whether Garden Fitness' personal trainers were able to (weight) lift the car out of the pool without the aid of any machines. Talk about a good workout though!

* As reported on MyFox8.com (Greensboro, NC) on May 1st, while the opening of the 17-story luxury Center Pointe residential building yesterday in downtown Greensboro, NC was newsworthy in-and-of-itself, its rock wall treadmill in the fitness center was what really caught my attention. Essentially an inverted treadmill with 'rock' hand and foot holds, the rock wall treadmill is a completely new and unique twist on the run-of-the-mill (no pun intended) treadmill. Knowing how difficult it is to run on maximum incline on a horizontal treadmill, I wonder how difficult it would be to run up this rock wall treadmill. As the article made no mention of the maximum speed of the vertical treadmill, I might have to make a little trip to Greensboro to test it out for myself!
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Next Weekend's Marathons

Saturday, May 9th
Nellie's Fitness Equipment Ayala Park Marathon (Chino, CA)
Scheels Fargo Marathon (Fargo, ND)
Journeys Marathon (Eagle River, WI)
Lake Geneva Marathon (Lake Geneva, WI)
Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (St. Joseph, MN)

Sunday, May 10th
Central States Marathon (Ames, IA)
London Life Forest City Road Races Marathon (London, ON)
Fredericton Marathon (Fredericton, NB)
Canon Mississauga Marathon (Mississauga, ON)

Comments

[dr dre beats]

Right now, I'm longing for the melting sun & exhausting heat. But, I'm sure I'll change my mind in a few weeks and I'll be wishing for the ice cold air & killer winds I wished away a few weeks ago.