The Complete Book of Running

9/12/09

I recently was in Oregon and went to Powell's Books in Portland (one of the greatest bookstores on Earth). I bought The Complete Book of Running by Fixx.

On page 17 of the book, there is a footnote that, in part, says

Even without the benefit of a formal study, most runners come to value the tranquilizing effect of their sport. Robert Gene Fineberg of Beaverton, Oregon, reports: "My vocation, market analysis, keeps me under extreme pressure each day, but nothing seems too big when I know that these miles after work will be as smooth as silk. Running gives the mind a boost worth all the tranquilizers in the world."

When I got home and opened the book, out popped two documents. They are letters of correspondence from Fixx to Fineberg. Enjoy!

The second letter presumably refers to page 149

An incidental cold-weather hazard- though not, I am happy to say, a common one if you dress properly- was described not long ago in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Melvin Hershkowitz of Jersey City, New Jersey. It is frostbite of the penis, and it was incurred by a fifty-three-year-old physician during a thirty minute run in below-freezing weather. Fortunately, symptoms disappeared within a few minutes. The patient, according to the report, has instituted rigorous precautionary measures.