Long Life Philosophy
HAVE FUN AND OUTRUN THE DYING LIGHT
The way to stay healthy, relieve stress and live life to the fullest is to run marathons. And maybe score an age-graded PR. Or let us coach you to a BQ.
Ah, okay, we'll admit it. You don't have to run marathons.
"You entered a marathon with hills? You idiot." -- Don Kardong
Especially not hilly marathons. Although some love them.
Other forms of aerobic exercise might do. Some put less stress on your joints than running. But I'm pretty sure that's a minus, not a plus.
It's only by testing your muscles, your heart, your bones and your will that you have a chance to beat off the encroachments of age.
“Compared to nonrunners, runners tended to live about three additional years, even if they run slowly or sporadically.” -- NY Times
What? There are other paths beside testing the limits of your will? Yep. Another study says drinking is as good for you as running.
Fortunately, many races have beer gardens at the finish.
Despite this and other health benefits, many people remain convinced that marathoners suffer from bad knees, back problems, and exercise-induced heart attacks.
"I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I'm damned if I'm going to use up mine running up and down a street." -- Neil Armstrong
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Neil Armstrong blew a lot of beats with a high resting heart rate and died of complications from cardiac surgery.
"Life is short ... running makes it seem longer." -- Baron Hansen
It's a nice line, but running actually makes life longer, while the runs seem too short. I've had some great conversations while running. Time and trees and figments on the periphery just fly by. Runner's high?
"Do not go gentle into that good night." -- Dylan Thomas
Nope. Light up the trail with a blazing Long-Life Headlamp and blinking rearward light.