2011 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge

Last April I ran my third Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. In the past three years, you have helped me raise nearly $17,000! I cannot thank you enough for your support!

Next April I will run my fourth Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. My goal is to raise $7000 and to run sub 2:35. I am honored and thrilled to be part of the twenty-second annual DFMC.

This year, my teammates and I hope to raise $4.5 million for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Cancer Research. One hundred percent of every dollar donated will fund innovative cancer research. The Barr Program has had a tremendous impact on not only cancer research but also the scientists receiving funds. The Barr Program provides seed money to young investigators with unique and promising ideas. Indeed, scientists who begin pioneering research with Barr Program funds are almost all successful in securing future grants from other sources (generally the NIH) to continue their work. Thus funds raised each year can be used to support new projects.

Every donation makes a difference. To make a donation, please see my official DFMC page.

Thank you so much for your generosity!

Classic Inspiration XXVII

Mysterious love, uncertain treasure,
Hast thou more of pain or pleasure!
Chilled with tears,
Killed with fears,
Endless torments dwell about thee:
Yet who would live, and live without thee!

Joseph Addison
Queen Elinor, in Rosamond, act 3, sc. 2.

My Bib Number

1236

Search for your favorite runner here.

Your Fastest Weight

All runners, cyclists, swimmers, rowers, biathletes (my favorite Winter Olympians), etc. think about that. What is my fastest weight?

The answer, according to the NYT, is that losing too much weight is bad. Great. But how much is too much?

Any serious athlete (or anyone who reads the article) knows the answer. (I will discuss that more below.) But to understand why I love the article so much, you need to understand (1) that I love irony and (2) the structure Gina Kolata likes to use for her "Personal Best" columns. (Most of the articles I post are from that column.)

Every week, Kolata seeks to overthrow (or at least to revise) conventional wisdom. And the article today is no different. The title says it all: "Slimmer Doesn't Always Mean Fitter." That does seem to contradict what most people believe: most people think lighter is faster. (How many runners are trying to gain weight?) Now read the article. Consider any of the half dozen examples. Take Dathan Ritzenheim. He is 5 feet 8 inches. His fastest weight? 122 pounds.

Are you laughing? If you are, then you know what any serious athlete does: for a normal person to reach his or her fastest weight in a healthy way is basically impossible. The volume and intensity of training required is simply too hard for most to sustain. (And the qualifier "in a healthy way" is not some sop to those crusading against eating disorders. You will never be your fastest if you do not eat.)

So that is why I love the article. Kolata seeks to explode a myth (lighter is faster), but all her evidence suggests that, for almost all of us, lighter is faster.

For the record, I am 1 percent taller than Ritz. I am 22 percent heavier.