Trail Running, Affilation, Cancer, and Men's Health

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Early Saturday morning about 8:15 AM, Randall, Trixie, Secretariat, and Chris arrived for our trail run. Randall organized this run and asked his wife Diane to meet us at Green Gate. Diane was going to be our moving aid station so that we could resupply ourselves with water, Gatorade, power bars etc. Secretariat’s wife Debbie was to accompany her. As it turned out young, fit Trixie is Randall and Diane’s personal trainer. Lucky them. This trail run, door-to-door is about 16 miles or so.

So we began. I started off in the lead from mile marker 16 until we reached our first creek crossing. At that point, I took off my jacket but kept my gloves on since it was still cold. Then, Trixie, Secretariat, and Randall took the lead. Chris told me “run at your own pace.” That is one of his consistent messages, and it helps me to relax and just run and not worry about catching up to the runners ahead. Trixie and Tony arrived at Green Gate first. Diane and Debbie were there with welcome supplies. We filled water bottles, ate power bars and commented about the cold weather. As it turns out, Trixie, in addition to being a personal trainer, competes in triathlons. Neither Trixie nor Randall knew this part of the trail. For her and Randall this was their longest running distance.

Then we took off for the Rucky Chucky the Western states crossing. Trixie, Randall, and Chris got there first, while Secretariat and I got there later. Secretariat waited for me as I went back to the car to put back on my gloves. At the turnaround, Chris, Secretariat, Trixie and Randall got out in front. At the last water crossing, Randall and Trixie waited for me. Then from about the 17 ½ mile marker, the three of us ran together to the finish. Originally, I was only going to run to Green Gate because this was going to be a tapering run. However, I was feeling good and decided to run the entire distance instead. I was pleased about the last mile and a half or so, that was run at about 11 minute mile pace. I decided I would rest on Sunday so that was my justification for running that distance at that pace. Secretariat was the first to reach my house. He was pleased to continue to be able to come in front of Chris. Everyone ran well and had a good time on this group run.

Now additional statistics about men’s health include the following: 1. Smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths. 2. While not as common, men can get breast cancer. About 2,140 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men, and about 450 men will die from the disease. 3. The most common cancer in the US, skin cancer strikes one in five Americans. 4. An estimated 43,890 men will be diagnosed with skin cancer and 8,080 men will die from the disease.

I do not know if anyone in today’s running group is going to die from cancer. I do know that no one in the group smokes. Young Trixie looked to have the least body fat. Randall is losing weight and getting fit so that he can run his first marathon. Secretariat has lost weight since he started running again and looks good at this point. If Chris gets more consistent with his running, he will benefit as well. Hopefully, none of you are at the end of your rope. If you are at the end of your rope, do as the president says” tie knot and hang on.”