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Your First Marathon - The Last Word in Long-Distance Running is DONE

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Your First Marathon - The Last Word in Long-Distance Running is DONE Empty Your First Marathon - The Last Word in Long-Distance Running is DONE

Post  Jack_Scaff Thu Aug 18, 2011 3:28 pm

As some of you know, I tend to tout my father's running-related accomplishments. Funny, I could have cared less when I was a teen, but now I realize that he has done good and am proud to be a shill for him.


30 some years ago he wrote a book called Your First Marathon that supplemented his training of runners via his Honolulu Marathon Clinic. For the last 5 years, he rewrote the whole thing with new data, and essentially doubled it with new chapters on shoes, kids, women, diet, beer, injury, medical conditions etc. etc. etc. I am pleased to say that the it is now complete and is making its way to the states from an overseas printer. I am not sure what his plans are for marketing of the book, but I just rec'd an advance copy and am still reading it. While geared to the less-experienced runner, I am confident that the facts in the book would be interesting to runners of all abilities.

Of course I have my biases, but if you have ever had the chance to talk to my dad for a period of time, he can be dynamic, entertaining, knowledgeable, controversial and even un-PC all at the same time. Regardless, his career as a cardiologist and student of the health benefits of running do lend to his credibility.

So with that said, I thought I would share parts of the book. I apologize in advance of any typos, etc. as I simply PDFed and converted to text pages. I'll pass along more on how to get it once I know, should anyone be interested.

Here is his preface that will give a sense as to the rest of the book. Following will be comments by Kenny Moore and Frnak Shorter, as well as the table of contents.








As the author, I feel so comfortable with the statements being made throughout the update of Your First Marathon—The Last Word in Long-Distance Running, (much of it from the early 1970s) that I would be willing to bet that in 50 or 60 years, you'll find that it is as correct then as it is today. While this might sound surprising, it shouldn't. After all, it has taken the human species millions of years to evolve, and I doubt if significant further evolutionary changes are going to occur in the span of a few decades.

This book consists of 3 parts. The first, "The Old Testament" is an update and extensive rewriting of the original chapters of Your First Marathon that is a guide for those wanting to learn to run a marathon. Enjoy. Follow the original format for the 9-month marathon-training program.

On the other hand, we are all getting older and the profound ramifications of recreational long-distance running as it modifies lifestyle, morbidity and mortality, is the subject matter for the last half of the book or, "The New Testament." So, pick and choose other chapters as they suit your fancy. Have a glass of wine, give your cigarettes to a former friend, jump around, and if you have doubts, check the cross referencing. Importantly, make yourself at home.

Between The Old Testament and The New Testament is the Trilogy, a series of three chapters that lay the foundation of the entire book. The chapters explain why humans are born to run and how remarkable we are in form and function.

Much of the information in this book is unappreciated by the medical community, not to mention the lay community at large. A specific example, (and this is a teaser to interest you in the additional chapters) deals with diabetes. We know beyond any reasonable medical doubt that individuals who habitually participate in endurance exercise decrease their insulin needs and increase their insulin sensitivity. In fact, to a greater or lesser extent, when performing recreational long-distance running, and depending on the amount of exercise, these individuals may bypass the insulin pathways entirely and momentarily lose their need for insulin modification. For that brief time, that individual might not be a diabetic at all! That's not to say that a diabetic can cure himself or herself by running 24 hours a day (it's very tiring and besides it causes blisters), but, rather, to suggest that every hour a diabetic spends exercising is one more hour in the non-diabetic condition. Further, it appears that these benefits, as far as life expectancy is concerned, may be cumulative, and, while some consider this outcome to be an assumption, the data very clearly bears it out.

Another example relates to improved treatment practices. In 1969, when I began cardiology, a heart attack patient was kept in the hospital 3 to 4 weeks, and then a year off work. Today the average hospital stay for an uncomplicated heart attack is less than 6 days and, importantly, cardiac rehabilitation programs (ours being one of the first) have trained post heart attack patients to complete a marathon (26.2 miles) within a year after having had their event.

My thoughts, then, reflect the tremendous changes that have occurred in the medical community during the past 90 years. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, life expectancy for men was just under 50 years of age; today it's in the late 70s. Medications for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia have changed dramatically in the past 6 to 8 years and undoubtedly will continue to improve in the decades to come.

To summarize, as we continue to evolve over the eons, we have conquered much disease and infection, and with that behind us, the best way to increase life expectancy is through a healthy lifestyle. One of the major, if not the single most important, aspects of this lifestyle is physical activity.

Because I believe a book such as this should challenge preconceptions and, even if you disagree with some of the conclusions (and perhaps vehemently), if by so doing you delve in the literature to prove us wrong, I am a happy author.

Finding the truths behind the data of running, fitness and extending life is a messy process. Strong opinions and facts abound. I liken the search for gems of truth in the endurance running field to a process proposed by a German philosopher.

According to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, (who was actually paraphrasing Herachtus) it takes three steps for logic to progress: one scientist posits a truth (thesis), another scientist challenges that truth with his truth (antithesis) and a third scientist amalgamates the thesis modified by the antithesis, and a synthesis emerges. So study, research, contemplate the data within this book along with other sources, and synthesize all this data as it integrates itself into your healthful lifestyle.

As a final note, this book is intended for all ages and even if the information is new to you, as noted, it will be as valid in the year 2060 as today. This is the reason we chose the title Your First Marathon—The Last Word in Long -Distance Running. Because it is.

Sincerely,

Jack H.. Scaff, M.D.
Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine
From somewhere in the Sandwich Isles 2011
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Post  Glenn Fri Aug 19, 2011 11:35 am

Definately pass on more info on availability. Looks like it will be an awesome read.
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Post  Seth Harrison Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:16 pm

Your dad looks to be a remarkable man. I love what he said about handing your cigarette to a "former friend"!
I'd love to read more of the book when it becomes available.
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Post  jon c Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:24 am

Very cool and sounds like an interesting read. Thank you so much for sharing this!
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Post  dot520 Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:57 pm

I'd love to read this book when it's for sale. Definitely keep us in the loop.
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