The December issue of Runners World has a great article about deaths and running. Good reading for all...lots of good info.
Eat this and die, eat that and die, drink this , don't drink that and die. Don't exercise and die. Exercise and die. No one gets out alive. I prefer to be moving when I do go.

I used to have a teacher that said, "don't take life so serious Jeremy."
"You can't win, and you can't get out alive."

Very true.....

All these people worry about this killing you or that killing you, but in retrospect, dying is a "side effect of living."

I think unhealthy is if you are so caught up in something that you miss out on everything else.

Weather it's work, exercise, eating, dieting, ect... If you work all your life and never play, exercise so much you never lounge, eat so much you can't move, diet so much you never enjoy what you eat, or are so scared to mess up that you never try......then it's "you" that cheated yourself out of things you might of enjoyed.

These people are heroes.
They stopped worrying so dang much about what if and focused on what they wanted to do.

The hardest words to live with are "I wish I would have......"

Sorry for the manifesto. Good Night All.

Nice one SonicSon. I too sometimes get a little overly angry when presented by lazy people who don't know why they're unhealthy or overweight but see them sucking down soda and pop-tarts. F$#%ing crazy.

I read the article, and it completley P!SSED Me off!!

I read the comments afterword and apparently nobody liked what this guy wrote.

I have run a number of NYRR events including the Marathon this past Sunday.

This guy is way off base. They have a very organized race and lots of medical personnel.

There is also a liability waiver they have,(as well as most, if not all races).

GRRRR!!

I am writing an e-mail to this butth0le!

I wrote my letter, and sent it to the author, the editor, and to NYRR

Why does Marathon get a pass after deaths? Article.‏
From: Scott Fleming (sfleming1@hotmail.com)
Sent: Thu 11/06/08 12:30 PM
To: anthony.rieber@newsday.com
Cc: ; ; ; NYRR Webmaster (webmaster@nyrr.org)

Mr. Reiber.

I read your article, Why does Marathon get a pass after deaths? dated November 4th.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-sprieber1105,0,3833050.column

As a member of the running community, I am deeply saddened by the deaths of my fellow runners and participants in the New York City Marathon.

However, I am disappointed in the lack of research presented, and the inflammatory, reactionary style you employed.

If you did more thorough research, your article probably would have had a different tone.
Apparently, another more responsible publication, The New York Times did more investigation than you.
This was Published on November 3rd, a day before your article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/sports/othersports/04marathon.html?_r=...

You might consider making a retraction, or correction after you wrote this, also dated November 4th.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spmara1105,0,5827755.story

I would like you to know when registering for a New York Road Runner Event, there is a liability waiver which you must acknowledge before completing the registration process.

Please refer to this waiver, which I have copied from the NYRR.org website for your review

NYRR Event Registration

You will be redirected to nyrr.org if you do not accept and agree to the waiver.

As you can see, this clearly states the possible hazards of the activity in detail.

By completing the registration, the participant acknowledges that they are ''medically able, and properly trained''

I believe your article improperly blames the New York City Marathon event, and the organizers for these incidents.

I am a runner and triathlete who has participated in over 100 events including 20 marathons.

I have read the waiver. I acknowledged my responsibility by training properly and having a yearly physical by my doctor, so I would aware of most medical issues that might affect my ability to run in the marathon.

I feel I am experienced enough to say that participating in the New York City marathon this year, was one of the best supported events I have ever been involved in.

I have copied the editor of your publication and the New York Road Runners organization so they would be aware of the journalism you practice, and the incomplete research you did.

In the future I would recommend you do more thorough research, and practice more ethical journalism.

Thank you,

Scott Fleming

Amen, Beads, I read the article and thought about writing a letter, I am glad someone got around to it,
Thanks being able to put into words what I could not,

The Author of the article wrote back

Re: Why does Marathon get a pass after deaths? Article.‏
From: Anthony Rieber (Anthony.Rieber@newsday.com)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent: Thu 11/06/08 2:02 PM
To: sfleming1@hotmail.com

Scott, Thank you for writing. And thank you for proving (at least in my opinion) the main point of my column, that the marathon gets a pass in some people's eyes in the "running community" and the media when two participants die. Regarding the two men who died: I wrote an article about one of them a day after my column appeared. He sounded like a truly wonderful man. The article you sent me from the NY Times was published in the newspaper the same day as my column, Nov. 4, according to a note on the bottom of the story (look again). So their own story says it was published Nov. 3 AND Nov. 4. Let me let you in on a little secret of the news business: Since many stories appear on line before they appear in print, trying to guess who-had-what-first is often a fruitless enterprise. It is possible the Times discovered the identity of the second man late in the day on Nov. 3 and added that information to a previously-filed story. At the time we published my column on the night of Nov. 3, the second man's identity was not known to me, nor was it known to many other news outlets. It is to the Times' credit that they discovered the Staten Island Advance story about Mr. Marotta. However, in my opinion most media outlets, including those that have a financial stake in reporting good news about the event, underplayed the deaths of the two men. In fact, George Vescey wrote a column the next day about how the marathon was a success in spite of the deaths. He is a legendary columnist, but I disagree with that point of view. As Americans, we are all free to disagree with each other. The Staten Island Advance did a wonderful job writing about Mr. Marotta. However, knowing his identity a day earlier would not have changed my opinion, nor does it change it now. Neither did speaking with Mr. Marotta's son, Paul. I found it interesting that he was willing to discuss the issues I raised with me in a calm and respectful way, unlike so many in the "running community." Did he agree with me? No. But he is obviously as good a man as his late father since, even in his day of grief, was willing to listen to another person's point of view, even if that person is not a member of the "running community". You may or may not have read that story closely. If not, I suggest you do. The photo we ran in the newspaper was provided to me by Paul Marotta. I've recieved e-mails from many people in the "running community" who agree with me and many who don't and have tried to answer them all. I hope there is room under your tent for people who disagree with you. From your e-mail, it doesn't sound like there is. Of course, that is just my opinion, and it is only based on your e-mail. I don't know you and you don't know me. Thanks again for writing and for letting my editor know how you feel. We always welcome reader feedback, whether negative or positive. You can be sure he knew exactly what I wrote before it went into the newspaper. By the way, you spelled my last name wrong in your e-mail. I am not going to ask you for a correction, however.

Allow me to retort

RE: Why does Marathon get a pass after deaths? Article.‏
From: Scott Fleming (sfleming1@hotmail.com)
Sent: Thu 11/06/08 2:50 PM
To: anthony.rieber@newsday.com

Mr. Rieber,

I apologize for the misspelling of your name in my letter.
However, that is a typographical error and doesn't change the content of my text.

I appreciate that you took time to write me back personally.

I don't want you to feel that I am attacking you. I am not.
I just have an opinion of your article based on my personal experience as a runner.

There are probably opinions that differ from mine as well.
My belief is that there are plenty of warnings that running a marathon could be hazardous to your health.

The NYRR doesn't hide this fact, and both Mr. Gomes and Mr. Marotta acknowledged that fact.

They take precautions and support the event with nutritional aide and medical aide along the course.

Mr. Gomes and Mr. Marotta had no visible health issues during the event, and no medical assistance was needed.
They also finished later than the marathon winners, which captured the news first.

I saw the sad news about them in the evening Sunday, when I arrived home, so they were not ignored by the media.

The comparison to boxing is not quite accurate since the person competing in a marathon is competing against their own personal limitations and not getting beaten physically by someone else.

I don't think marathon 'gets a pass' when there are fatalities. It just did not seem to be in the spotlight.
Why our opinions differ I don't know.

We are in agreement that the deaths of Mr. Gomes and Mr. Marotta are sad in the aftermath of their achievement.

Scott Fleming

it's ok to be wrong. I'll admit it -- I've been wrong before. But it is a hard thing for people to say sometimes. Looks like this guy finds being defensive the easier route.

This is exactly the point the article didn't address. When you only look at the costs and not the benefits of an activity, you can make anything seem like a dangerous waste of time.

I wonder if this particular writer has taken on other hobbies which carry a risk of death and offer absolutely no life-extending benefits to their participants. (Motorcycling, for example.) If not, why not?