Solider Brings marathon to Iraq

Anthony Mike, a solider and a marathon runner, as if just one of those things isn’t good enough, plans to bring the 25th annual California International Marathon to Baghdad in a way. Since he can not attend the marathon in California that he would much rather run, he is just going to have a "shadow marathon" as he called it in Baghdad. He organized this event and everything that goes along with it, which I thought was so amazing. The fact that he is away from his family and friends and serving our country, and also finds time to run a marathon is awesome. The two races will be completely different though. The runners of the California marathon will face a rather friendly 26.2 miles, with check points for 18 miles with drinks and snacks to refuel as well as screaming fans. On the other hand the mock marathon in Baghdad will be accompanied by a gun truck as they make approximately four trips around a 6.5-mile loop inside the U.S.-guarded Green Zone. These runners in Baghdad unfortunately will not be able to take advantage of the California's 18 friendly pit stops, although they do expect to have a truck carrying water with a medic just in case. Also, Baghdad traffic will not be stopped for runners on that day. Like many marathons in the United States, traffic comes to a halt and the roads then become bombarded by the thousands of runners who then take over on that day.

"We talk all the time about running, and I said, 'Oh, I'm going to miss the marathon,' " Mike said. That's when Thiele-Sardina told him, "We can do it here."

Mike has only finished two marathons so far, but this will be his third and he is on his way to accomplishing a lot more in his life. I am inspired by this story and I hope many others will be as well.

Going the distance

When looking at the distance a marathon is as just a number, 26.2 it's nothing more than just a number. When looking at it as a distance one can complete physically, it is much more than just a number now, its an accomplishment to many. More and more people seem to be participating in marathons. In this news article I found, Going to distance, Ventura County runners got ready for the L.A. Marathon that occurs annually. It talks about how there are so many different runners and athletes that go out and not only run this marathon but complete it. Every individual runner has their own goal or inspiration of why they run. So do it for an escape, to stay in shape, for health reasons, or maybe because they just need a new challenge in life.

Caroline Connolly, 39, of Camarillo, says, “I needed an outlet for the frustration I was feeling in my personal life. Getting to the training site every Saturday morning was difficult. But I had to complete what I had started or I would have gone in the wrong direction emotionally.”

I hope to complete a handful of marathons one day all around the world. My mom is a marathon runner and I have always thought she was crazy for wanting to put her body through that kind of pain. Although after I got serious with my running in college, and after watching her more and seeing the sense of accomplishment she receives after finishing a marathon; I hope to run one at least one day in the near future. I think why I run is really to stay healthy and in shape. I like to eat a lot and therefore if i didnt run I would be huge! I also run to just sometimes escape reality in a way, it is a really good escape. If you never have seen a marathon, its awesome. There are so many people that get up super early get all dressed in their running clothes and run this distance, 26.2 miles. Wether it takes them 2 hours or all day, they complete it. Seeing their faces is the best thing to me, and I'm going to be there one day...hopefully.

Autopsy Results for Marathon Runner Ryan Shay Due in a Week

It is hard to believe that someone who was so physically fit, perhaps more physically fit than more than half of the people in the world has died just this past week. It was a very unexpected incident that had happened during the New York Marathon. Ryan Shay was a four time national distance runner champion, therefore obviously extremely healthy and fit. So how did he die? That is still a mystery to many. At mile five he just collapsed in Central Park. What a shock that is to me. He had accomplished so much. Shay was champion of the USA 20-kilometer event in 2004, the USA half-marathon 2003 and 2004, and the USA marathon in 2003. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, won the 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association 10,000-meter title and was a nine-time All-American, wow that is an extreme amount of accomplishments. Many distance runners dream of accomplishments like that, I know I do unfortunately I am just not that talented. Distance running is one of the hardest sports in my opinion, it takes so much self discipline and determination. Shay had all of those things and more. It is so sad that his death was so sudden and unexpected, he was doing something he loved though, at least it was not from a car accident or something else like that. I'm curious to know exactly what happened though, because I have heard some other stories of runners who have just collapsed while running and die. Shays dad had mentioned in this news story that early on doctors had mentioned he had an larger than normal heart and that later on he might need a pacemaker. Marmur, the director of interventional cardiology at the school's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, said the exact relationship between exercise and death is ``not that well established.''

It can happen at rest and it can also happen at exercise,'' Marmur said in a telephone interview. ``It may be that (Shay) was destined to have an arrhythmic death.

That is just crazy to me to know that something like this can happen. I think that maybe having a larger than normal heart helped him become a really good distance runner but alsoo killed him. I don't know though, I am anxious to see the results that have not yet been released.

Just this past weekend Lance Armstrong ran the New York marathon for the second time. He also improved his time by thirteen minutes which is awesome as well. I don’t think there is anything that man cant do, he is just such an amazing athlete it is insane. What a role model he is as well, it is very inspiring to just hear his story, or read about it in his books. To see where he came from, surviving cancer, growing up in a home of only one parent, but yet he never let any of this stop him from achieving his goals. The fact that he not only one seven consecutive Tour de France titles, but yet he can run a marathon too, and a rather fast marathon. He had mentioned that last year when he ran the NY marathon he battled shin splits that were severe, well this year he didn’t because he changed his training and prepared himself even better than last year. The way he can race on the bike, you would think he would be able to go out and win these marathons but he didn’t he actually got 698^th place. It just goes to show how different the sports are, running and cycling. He still though it a one of a kind athletes, the best in my eyes and truly an inspiration to many.