Fatality at Grand Rapids 25K

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May 13, 2010
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#1
I will always think of this race as LPJason's, since he put together the largest gathering of barefoot runners in North America ever at last year's event.

It was my first race, and the one that motivated me to take up running in the first place.

When I heard the news on the radio that a father of three in his thirties died a mile from the finish line my ears perked up and when they said his name was Jason......well, you can imagine how long it seemed to take in my mind before they finished with a different last name.

Sad of course no matter who it was.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-05-16-3386832555_x.htm
 
#2
That is so sad.  I feel so

That is so sad. I feel so bad for his family.
 
#3
The report said he had

The report said he had coronary heart disease. So sad. I am always shocked when I hear of a runner who has this disease.
 
#5
You would think someone who

You would think someone who is in good enough shape to run a 25k would be able to ward off the disease or something
 
#6
unfortunately, there are

unfortunately, there are multiple causes for heart disease, and poor heart health can be HELPED but not cured by exercise. The specific issue he had is often the one that causes athletes to die while doing hard athletic activity (football and basketball players while playing for example) and is rarely identified early, if it is, treatment can prevent things like this.



Amie
 
#7
My GF has me reading a book

My GF has me reading a book by a Dr. Esselstyn which makes the case pretty damn strongly that just about everyone of us is eating enough oil / fat, even in a "moderate" or even low fat diet, to generate coronary disease.

The part I read just last night lays a good deal of the blame on the Dept. of Agriculture, which monitors our food supply, for having about zero actual basis for its recommendations beyond the fact that heavy hitting special interests scream bloody murder every time anyone makes any serious noise about tightening standards. He suggests that the CDC be charged with formulating dietary recommendations that don't put heart attack and related causes at the top of the list for what's killing us as a nation. Current "food pyramid" recommendations are for us to get about 30% of our calories from fats. He says it should be more like 10%, and that a healthy cholesterol level is under 150 mg/dL. (Forgive me if I have spellings or units wrong here, I'm writing from memory.)

...but I am very reluctant to eat so healthy myself, even though I believe him intellectually.

So, running in itself isn't a guarantee that our hearts and arteries are in healthy condition.
 
#8
Having met one of the members

Having met one of the members of the dietary guidelines for america committee and heard about the process of creating the food guidelines, I agree wholeheartedly with you. They get the pros in, have them write a giant volume (which can be purchased for review), then take that information and create their own, much shorter set of guidelines and ignore/contradict half of the evidence based recommendations that were made. And add things in without evidenciary basis.

Knowing that, I take them with a grain of salt and encourage my clients to do the same. Some of them are worth following, others aren't. I still think a healthy human needs about 20% of CALORIES to come from fat, but given that fat is much denser than any other type of food calorically, that isn't 20% of food. It's more like less than 10%.

I still plan to write up a few posts on what I learned last week at the conference, just haven't had a chance yet- been busy with some other things, I'll try to get the post on sports nutrition up today or tomorrow.
 
#9
Barefoot Larry wrote:I

Barefoot Larry said:
I googled the words runner died, and this is scary because it seems to happen often.
Click to expand...
Running, like a lot of things is best done in moderation. There are some studies that have been done that show how runners who over-do it risk damage to their heart.

But that said, I think the most important part of good health is diet. And that's pretty simple. Eat, whole, real foods. Don't eat things that come out of a box or that are manufactured. As far as fats, stay away from things like corn oil, soy oil, seed oils, etc.
 
#10
What about the Raramuri?  Do

What about the Raramuri? Do the Tarahumara suffer from the same heart disease? I would guess not. What percentage of their running people suffer from heart related deaths? I would guess very little. It's definitely our culture that causes the bulk of this problem. And if we were to agree that is true, then running would not have to be taken in moderation; just look at the Raramuri.
 
#11
Barefoot TJ wrote:What about

Barefoot TJ said:
What about the Raramuri? Do the Tarahumara suffer from the same heart disease? I would guess not. What percentage of their running people suffer from heart related deaths? I would guess very little. It's definitely our culture that causes the bulk of this problem. And if we were to agree that is true, then running would not have to be taken in moderation; just look at the Raramuri.
Click to expand...
The Raramuri don't run like we do on a number of levels. The first rule of running from Caballo Blanco is to run easy. I think part of this is to run within ourselves, at a very moderate pace, meaning a low heart rate. There's a big difference between pounding out miles, and running as a natural activity.

In terms of the Raramuri diet, those still on traditional diets aren't eating out of a grocery store box. No refined grains, little or no sugar. No Gatorade!
 
#12
Exactly my point.  If we ate

Exactly my point. If we ate better, we could run healthier and more often.
 
#13
A few years ago a friend of

A few years ago a friend of mine had a quad bipass. He almost died. He was confused because he was eating well and ran miles everyday.

WELL, his surgeon told him that is what saved him. By all his running he had built up his collateral circulation. Had he not had that he would have died long before and never had a chance.



So, keep on running!!
 
#14
I have seen some blog entries

I have seen some blog entries by a woman who works with Copper Canyon residents who says that the information about them not suffering diseases of civilization is bunk and that diabetes, alcoholism and cancer are common and an important issue in the community, as they are in almost every indigenous community in the Americas. If I find it, I'll post it here. I think everything we know from BTR can be taken with a grain of salt! But it's always been clear to me that running would help anyone recover more readily from any health issue and lessen the severity.
 
#15
Genes are the single biggest

Genes are the single biggest factor determining whether or not a person will develope coronary artery disease.

Some people will never get any athero-sclerotic plaque build-up even if they smoke, live on triple bacon cheeseburgers, and never leave the couch except to deep fry another batch of taters.

Others can follow a strictly vegan diet, get daily cardio workouts, and yet have 90% or greater blockages in several coronary arteries.

MOST people will reduce their risks of dying of a heart attack from the condition if they follow a healthy diet and exercise regimen, but neither is a guarantee.

One's thing for sure: the non-smoker getting a regular cardio workout and eating right is much more likely to survive and recover from coronary artery bypass graft surgery than is his/her sedentary counterpart.

If one REALLY wants to prevent this killer from interfering with their life, the secret is in using higher standards when choosing their parents.

If that's impossible, a good diet, refraining from smoking, and excercise is probably the next best thing.

And of course no matter how much you run, an 81 mg. aspirin a day just may save your life!

Pretty cheap coronary artery anti-coagulative therapy, especialy if purchased as store brand.
 
#17
The thing I like most about

The thing I like most about discussions of heart disease and diet is that whatever they say today, will change tomorrow. Like Longboard said, there is a lot of genetics as a factor in CAD. If a high fat content diet were the issue then the Eskimos would all be dead, it has as much to do with what fats, your genetics, and how your body processes and stored fats.
I have read a lot about the "Heart Damage" that occurs from long distance running. In fact I have had a blood test after running 18 miles and the enzymes look like I was having a heart attack. Why? Muscle tissues break down, Muscle cells stress and die and release enzymes as we run, it is normal and although in normal couch potatoes that never see a mile running these enzymes are nonexistent until they have a heart attack and heart muscle dies, they are present in us runners as a pretty normal benchmark. Just like a couch potatoes with an enlarged left ventricle would be a great concern but to a distance runner it is a healthy side effect of running.

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=1807
 
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