Nature v. nurture

.... had a very odd thought this morning, 6:21 a.m. EST, standing outside my condo waiting for the street car. It happened on a silent dark street, only the stray vehicle motoring by just before the morning rush. There they were, left and right, everywhere I looked. One runner heading east toward the central waterfront area. Three runners heading west, jogging and talking. Two runners, going south, hooking up with the trail that is planted right at the base of my home. Then across the street, a woman exited her condo's entrance, and began the first steps of her run. I counted 10 in the span of four minutes before my street car arrived.

Which got me thinking, is my environment encourage running, or would I run anywhere? I tend to think that having a trail outside my door has a lot to do with it. There's water, there's uninterrupted trails, there are runners and cyclists. It's the perfect environment.

I've read more than a few articles ("Why don't Americans walk anymore," for example) that say suburbs are really bad for encouraging healthy communities. There are no sideways, no obvious places to like parks. In these poorly planned areas, there is no neighbourhoods to the point where cars, not shoes, are needed to do even the simpliest things.

In my neighbourhood, I walk a lot, and I run a lot, because it's easy, and it makes sense. Which brings me back to my thought....

Our hearts

NY times on a marathoner's heart.

Danny boy...

Update (10/02/08): I see some people are landing on this page looking for info on Danny Kassap, who collapsed during the Berlin Marathon this past weekend. Here's a forum where there seems to be good updates.

Original post:
You all have local running heroes. You know, they're the guys and gals who tear it up in races at your home town. You look at the race results, scroll way way down, and find yours among the middle or back of the pack. At the top, with the crazy times and rip roaring pace, are those heroes.

Well, there are many in Canada's biggest city, but here's one to remember: Danny Kassap (picture at left is from the race photog from here). He's run in Toronto for a few years now, has won the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon last year, the Montreal marathon last week and will have a go at the Scotiabank on the 24th (i'm running in the half in that race).

The Globe reports he has his refugee claim rejected and he can't run for Canada even though he is married to a Canadian. He fled Congo after criticizing the government, hasn't spoken to his family, arrived here and stayed at a homeless shelter, learned the language and started running competitively.

I've run in races where he blew away the competition. At the 5K race at the Docks, for example, he blew away the competition on a hot hot day. (correction, i called him a Kenyan runner in that post.. opps). I had the pleasure of seeing him in the lead in the out-and-back route.

All I have to say is that is a complete shame. This guy is a shining example to the running community and embodies what Canada represents for so many people, including my parents when they immigrated here many years ago. A land of opportunity. A place where you can remake yourself. I buy his refugee claim and, more to the point, I buy that he's Canadian, if not by passport, then by heart.

I ran 8.1k (5 miles) after work with a nice speedy last mile... Tomorrow is supposed to be more speed work, but I may very well skip it in prep for the weekend long run.

NY Times: How to run marathons in the heat

Very nice article from the New York Times about how we run in the heat (okay, how elites run in the heat) and it has some good advice.

Beach reading

... I guess on recovery days, we can relax. R. and I went to the beach today at the Toronto Islands for some sun.. Is it me, but us runners develop crazy tans on our arms and legs and face, leaving my other parts (ie: chest) white! Oh well. R. brought the Sunday New York Times (which I also read parts of) and I brought my running book by Amby Burfoot called The Principles of Running. Picture here was taken with my camera phone with R.'s sandals..

Baby we were born to run

Read an interesting article in The Globe, titled, "In the long run" and it was very enlightening to learn several facts that makes me gratified that I'm a runner. For instance:

A runner once raced against, and beat a bunch of horses. The distance 35K race.

We were made to be endurance runners and most animals are made to be sprinters. Other endurance animals include hyenas, wild dogs and wildebeest, so think that the next time you're doing a long run. Say, "I am a hyena"

We're born for endurance cause our ancestors were scavengers and willing to travel great distances to forage for food. Instead of chasing down our prey, we stalked our protein.

Anyways, a nice quote from the story

"The basic thinking about humans has always been that we are the nerds, the wimps, of the animal world. We have big brains, and so the basic story of our evolution was that we somehow outsmarted other creatures," Dr. Lieberman says. "But actually we are incredible athletes, and this athleticism is important in our evolution."

All in all, still makes me think that why don't more people run. Cause it's painful? Maybe. Cause it's boring. Okay, a point. Cause they have better things to do? Um... Well, count me in the minority, and in any case, i'm in good company with the other lone runners out there pounding the pavement...