It seems to me that there have been a lot of incidents/deaths during marathons. Most recently in the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon. We’re not talking about unhealthy individuals either. You have to figure that some amount of training was done for these races. Age isn’t the issue either. One runner was 26 and the others were 35 and 65.

I was trying to wrap my brain around this on one of my runs. I searched a bunch of things and come up with this explanation (or closest thing I could find): Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).

In an article by the PR Newswire, “Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association Says Deaths of Three Detroit Marathon Runners Underscore Need for More Public Awareness,” it is said that nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths can be attributed to SCA each year. With the growing popularity of marathons and half marathons, you have to figure that we’re going to SCA come into play more and more each year.

As reported in Tara Parker-Pope’s blog “Are Marathons Safe?” on the New York Times website, death’s during marathons are rare (0.8 per 100,000) in comparison to triathlons (1.5 per 100,000), dying from diabetes (23 per 100,000) and dying in a car accident (1 per 6,700). But that doesn’t make it right.

As runners, we consider ourselves healthy just by the nature of what we are and what we do. This isn’t always the case though. I urge you to have yearly physicals and listen to your doctor’s advice. You can’t tell if your cholesterol is off the charts (trust me, I know). If you do get physicals, good for you. Now take it a step further and make sure you mention it to your running partner, running organization and friends. Let’s spread the word and keep runners running and not lying flat on their backs.

RMFR

So, I did it.

Scared stiff by my latest physical, I took a leap of faith and joined my wife down the Vegetarian Road. To be honest, it hasn’t been a huge lifestyle change. I wasn’t eating mass quantities of meat in the first place – unless you count fast food burgers and pizza by the box!!!

The biggest change has come in the grocery aisles. I no longer grab food that just looks good or fills and urge I might have at that moment. No, now every shelf item is scrutinized by it’s nutrition facts label. Low fat, low sodium and low cholesterol. I’m starting to grow fond of tofu and rice cakes and have a LONG way from the first time I tried them.

I think it’s going to stick. If my energy levels stay high, the scale keeps getting lower and I can assist my chances of spoiling my grand children in the future – it shouldn’t be an issue. Thank goodness Bonnie’s Country Classic Barbecue Sauce is on the “approved” list.