flat coke story

since performance enhancers have been all over the news lately:

- A-Rod

- Clemons

- Phelps (bong man)

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I thought I would share some truths myself and come clean, finally, about this dark little secret, or two, that I have been withholding from y'use all these last few years.

I was recently on a cruise with my client, Run and Fun Vacations, and Frank Shorter was the celebrity guest.  Never heard of Frank, shame on you!  Arguably one of the distance superstars of the modern (post war) era, Frank has few equals when comparing the careers of the great distance men.

When I started running, in 1995, I bought just about all the books available, to be "like a sponge" so to speak, and since nutrition was a field of interest for me already, I wanted to pay attention to what worked best in terms of my diet and what I would eat and drink during a marathon.

One of the more interesting anecdotes was from two-time Olympic medalist, American Frank Shorter (Gold in Munich, Silver in Montreal - Marathon).  Gatorade and other sports drinks weren't available, so Mr. Shorter publicly endorsed the use of flat coke.

Why the hell not!

Fortune would smile on me in my 4th marathon, in Kelowna, May 1996, as I shared the weekend stage with Canada's top marathoner at the time, Peter Fonseca, gearing up himself for the upcoming Atlanta Olympics.  Peter was flown in to act as local dignatary on behalf of the Running Room - speaking at the Pasta Dinner and running the 1/2 marathon himself.

By association, they figured I was fast too!  Going along for the ride, I was asked if I had any "special needs" on race day.

"Uumm, well, yeah, I guess I could have my own sports drink available at the water stations"...was the best I could do under very quick circumstances (literally)....(:

So, then I found myself at the local variety store, soon then in my hotel room, shaking the fizz out and preparing 4 500ml bottles, which I happily shared with the race day volunteer crew.  To my amazement on race day, I actually located 3/4 bottles, and to add further fuel to the fire, found myself with a new P.B. at the conclusion of 42.2 miles - 2:54!!

Was it the coke?

We won't get into Sudafed, that's another story...

cheers,

P.D.

peter@mynextrace.com

blog entry miami

Legends (not) of the sport

So you think you’re a famous runner do you….?  If your name is Salazar, Zatopek, Kastor or Radcliffe, then yes, you qualify.

How about “the Raven”?   Coat Man?  50-state and 7 continents runners?

The many “streakers” who toe the line beside you?

I was just running the Miami ½ marathon recently with a travel group (Run and Fun Vacations) and “ran” into a familiar personality on the race circuit, or, to put it a better way, a sub-cultural group of personalities, many from the southern states where running daily with no snow, ice or slush to contend with.

I started noticing these “wackos” years ago, when we did some MyNextRace.com experimenting and out-reach marketing in places like Ohio (Cleveland), Illinois (Chicago), Massachussetts (Boston), Florida (Tampa, Orlando) and New York State (New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Utica).

Guys who have run in the 500+ marathon categories, runners who want to run a marathon in every State, Province or Continent.

Never heard of these guys?

Top Ten Reasons to Run and Fun

Yes, this is a paid blog item – courtesy of my clients Joe and Theresa from Run and Fun Vacations

• Every day and every meal is a carbo load day!  Run more = eat more..
• Get up close and personal with Olympic Legend Frank Shorter
• If you’ve never run on a cruise ship running track, with water all around you, you haven’t experienced one of the best places to run….
• When you’re surrounded by mostly slower, out of shape humans, you feel like an even more accomplished athlete
• Ever run on a Caribbean island, on the sand in your barefeet – another MUST DO for all runners
• Run outside in freezing cold weather OR get away and develop a tan at the same time – how difficult is this to comprehend?
• Miami = Beaches = Nite Life = Flat Course = South Beach = International Race Field….
• Can there be a better post-race recovery concept for a marathon runner than a cruise?
• You can sit in your room, watch tv and they’ll bring every meal to your cabin – FREE – now how is that for post-race pamering???
• Rum and Beer on Island patios is $2 / drink in most places, cheaper than those energy bars and gel shots

Island Running Man