Minute 1: Is sitting really the new smoking?
When the founders of Varidesk switched from making holiday decorations and novelty gift items to manufacturing standing desks, sales were pretty sluggish at first. Then Dr. James Levine at the Mayo Clinic came out with a new study claiming that “sitting is the new smoking.” $100 million in sales later, the Varidesk guys should stand up and type out a nice thank you note to Dr. Levine. Beyond coining a catchy and scary phrase, was Doc Levine right? New evidence points out that while sitting for prolonged periods is in fact unhealthy, standing around brings its own risks. Blood tends to pool in the legs while standing at work, raising pressure on the cardio vascular system. A doctor who has studied the data recently explained “why sitting ISN’T slowly killing you.” And the New York Times let us all sit down again, guilt-free, with an article last week. They explain that human brains are naturally wired toward sitting and chilling rather than rising and exerting.
#standingisthenewsitting.
Minute 2: Pittsburgh Marathon running into unexpected controversy
Marathon protesters are squawking about one of our favorite guilty pleasures: Chik-fil-A. When the fast food chain signed on as a sponsor of the Pittsburgh Marathon, LGBTQ groups objected because the founder of Chik-fil-A has donated to groups supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit”and espousing some pretty last-century views. The battle lines are taking somewhat predictable contours, with Fox News weighing in on the marathon dispute and LGBTQ bloggers explaining their protests. Not sure the Pittsburgh Marathon folks expected this backlash. It appears they are trying to balance the sponsorship dollars which benefit their kids’ sports programming against providing an open door to all runners.
Minute 3: Chicago Marathon’s most personal stories
We realize that even a huge marathon would lose a ratings war to an NFL pre-season game. But we’re still suckers for all of the personal stories that emerge from these events. Among the 45,000 who will compete in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon, here are a few of our favorite stories.
First, keep an eye on Gwen Jorgensen, who owns an Olympic gold medal in triathlon. She walked away from a lot of money (adios, Red Bull contract) and fame as a triathlete to pursue her true love – running. She has been proving doubters wrong her entire career as she bounced from collegiate swimmer to collegiate runner to Olympic triathlete. We like this video of her prepping for Chicago which showcases not only her work ethic, but also the stunning facilities at Nike/Bowerman HQ. (We dare you not to smile when her 1-year-old son steals the show.) We also love this well-written profile of her career evolution in Outside Magazine.
We are also watching Joan Benoit Samuelson, another Olympic gold medal winner, who is running Chicago at age 61. She will be trying to break the world record of 3:01:30 for 60+ women set in 2010. Finally, we will be rooting for Leesa Drake. Like Joanie, she has run Chicago before. In fact, this will be Drake’s 102nd marathon. The 51-year-old mom finished last year’s Chicago marathon with her noggin totally bald from chemo treatments. She has survived breast cancer as well as a bike accident that resulted in a diagnosis of: “You’ll never run again.”
#FCancer #thewomenarestronger
Minute 4: Don’t kick sand in Ryan Hall’s face
Ryan Hall owns the fastest American marathon time in history (2:04:58). He may have also just set the record for being the strongest elite distance runner in American history. Hall just posted a video on his Instagram account of deadlifting 405 pounds. Yeah, he looks a little bulkier than in his 2:04 days, but this is still impressive. As Hall says, this video is meant to hush the haters who tease marathoners for “not being able to lift their bags off the conveyer belt at the airport.” With apologies for the hostage video production quality, it’s worth checking out his post.
#runs&guns
Minute 5: Quick takes
- We recently stumbled across this gem of a story which describes “How to lose weight in 4 easy steps.” This ain’t your typical supermarket check-out stand formula. There’s a sadly sweet, romantic twist to the author’s fitness regime. (“Your ex texts you late at night to ask you out to coffee, but you don’t write her back.”)
- Women’s Running just released a list of their 5 favorite fall produce items for athletes. At the other end of the dinner table, we love the Daily Mail’s list of 10 favorite meals for Brits and the work-outs required to burn them off. (You need a half marathon to offset a dinner of chicken tikka masala.)
- To wrap up our food trifecta, here is an inspirational list of what the top contenders in Chicago this weekend will eat for breakfast. Pop Tarts, steamed rice, peanut butter and avocadoes are all on the list.
Minute 6: Daily Inspiration
Looking for a little classic inspiration for your weekend work-outs? Why not fire up Netflix to watch our all-time favorite running movie, Chariots of Fire. Abrahams: “If I can’t win, I won’t run!” Gordon: “If you don’t run, you can’t win.” Even the trailer will get you off the couch:
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