Finisher's Medals And The Decline Of Health

I can remember a time not so long ago when only the crazy, hard-core runners would do a marathon. In that same fleeting memory, I can remember a time when only the crazy, hard-core triathletes would do an Ironman. Neither of these was something a sedentary person would even consider, much less put on their bucket list.

Oh, how times have changed. Here we are now in 2013, living in a world in which you can't throw a stone without hitting a marathon or Ironman finisher. In the same breath, however, the incidence of obesity is rising. Somehow there seems to be a growing chasm between the two.

What is going on here?

Back in the day, marathons were for the hard-core, dedicated runners: the ones who had been running for years and who lived and breathed the runner's lifestyle. You probably started with a 5K. After a few attempts at that distance in order to improve your time, you might have ventured forth into the realm of the 10K. There was a natural evolution and progression involved. You progressively built on a foundation of running consistency and successes. In time, a marathon wasn't such a quantum leap in thinking. But it usually didn't start out as a bucket list item.

Now, it is not uncommon to start as a couch-dweller with a bucket list item of "running a marathon". You get into a 6 month training program. If you are one of the 10% of first time marathoners that don't get injured, then you toe the line and run your race. How many continue with running once the item has been checked off the list? Especially if you were injured along the way?

The Ironman triathlon has a similar progression, just more extreme. It used to be an event for only the hard-core, dedicated triathletes: the ones that had been in the sport for years. Again, it was a natural evolution and progression towards the pinnacle event - the Ironman.

Now, we have 2000 - 3000 participants in any given Ironman. There are 29 events worldwide. Seeing a trend here?

Meanwhile, back in the United States, 63% of Americans are obese or overweight. Obesity affects 27% of the population as a whole, and 17% of youth. The incidence of heart disease and diabetes aren't decreasing either.

Something seems terribly amiss with all of this.

Somewhere along the line, extreme sports (and extreme is a relative term, for sure) entered the collective psyche of the population. Not only did it enter our consciousness, it ended up on the bucket lists of countless sedentary and active people around the world. That increase wouldn't be so bad - if it meant that the general trend for the population as a whole was to be more active. But it's not. This is reflected in the growing number of overweight and obese and those affected by heart disease and diabetes.

The natural evolution and progression of sport activity - the gradual and incremental building of fitness and an active lifestyle - appears to have been lost in the mix. Participation in these extreme events is great, but frankly a fitness activity should never be a bucket list item. Have we put the finisher's medal cart before the healthy lifestyle horse?

Sure, you can do a marathon, or an Ironman, on a 6 month program. Yes, you can be successful doing so. Yes, you can use that as a springboard to an active lifestyle. It happens. And when it does, we all applaud the outcome.

But what happens if you end up on the couch afterwards due to burn-out, injury, or just lack of real lifestyle change? Then have we really accomplished anything? Are the swelling ranks at the start lines of extreme events really doing anything to remedy our growing numbers of obese? Or are we just increasing the chasm between the health haves and have-nots?

One has to wonder - are we looking for a medal to validate ourselves, or building a healthy lifestyle on which to pin it?

Photo credits: Grayskullduggery