On Sat, 6 Nov 1999, Don Wiss wrote:

> Todd Moody wrote:
>
> > There are still plenty of people who believe that
> >distance running is the only exercise that matters.  In many
> >cases, such people do not eat enough protein and so as they
> >punish the tissues in their legs, protein from the upper body
> >must be cannibalized.  The result is a person with a rather
> >emaciated upper body.
>
> Oh! So should I go down to the bottom of the hill tomorrow morning and
> check out the 20,000 marathoners and see if they have emaciated upper bodies?

Yes, and you will find many who do.  A classic example of this
was the late George Sheehan, M.D., who logged many miles each
week but had difficulty doing a single sit-up or push-up.  His
shoulders were rounded and his chest sunken, like a starving
person.

I think the stereotype of the emaciated runner is less applicable
than it used to be.  More runners have learned that there is
value in some form of cross-training, but there are still many
who have not learned it, or don't want to hear it.  I live a
short distance away from a park frequented by distance runners (a
5-mile gravel trail through the woods) and I get to observe this
phenomenon regularly.

Todd Moody
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