A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "I can confirm four male participants in the race have died, which is more than the usual one or two - but every year more people are taking part."The "usual" one or two? The usual "one or two"?
Hm. I wonder?Is it possible that these shirts do their job too well? A small company called TR Gear thinks so. "Our extensive research shows that the high wicking fabrics currently used in the industry can actually increase the risk of injury, fatigue, overheating, and dehydration by not allowing sweat to affectively cool the body through evaporation against the skin," reads the company's Web site.
Mike Smoltz, the founder of TR Gear and the brother of Braves pitcher John Smoltz, told me that newfangled wicking shirts counteract the body's natural thermal regulation mechanism. By drawing sweat away from your skin as soon as it rises to the surface, he says, your body won't cool properly. That will make you sweat even more, which will lead in turn to dehydration and compromised muscle performance.
"I've had to cope with poor visibility, which has at times been nil, I've had to work against the resistance and the pressure of the water.
"You don't know what's underfoot - sometimes its mud, silt, rocks or nothing.
"The airline also kept getting caught and I also had to deal with a build-up of carbon dioxide in the helmet. It's also very cold and very lonely."
In something of an understatement, this guy, quite possibly a lunatic, admitted: "It's definitely been far more difficult doing it underwater than it has been on land."
Man. Man.
He runs seven hours at a stretch, sometimes as much as 48km (30 miles). On a daily basis.The boy's story is heartbreaking. Full article here.
And Budhia Singh is just three and a half years old.
Today we are pleased to announce the world's first Run Thru Wedding Chapel and are issuing a call for one or more couples who are running the marathon and would like to get married on race day. Please send an e-mail to weddings@newlasvegasmarathon.com with your names, location, phone number and tell us in 100 words or less how you met, how long you've been running together and what getting married on race day would mean to you. One lucky couple will be chosen at random to spend their wedding night in a honeymoon suite at Mandalay Bay.
It's pretty tempting.
The Ireland trip was wonderful; I'll post some photos when I have a minute. Right now I'm still ploughing through work e-mail: then I have to catch up on my blogs. Looks like there's been a lot going on!
