ðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸðŸ wrote:
I nominate Ed Whitlock as the greatest Canadian athlete of all time.
Who's with me?!
I already have Ed as a Canadian Superhero™…which is even better.
Here are some words of wisdom from Ed Whitlock from a RW article:
Based on his past encounters, Whitlock tries to steer clear of doctors.
“About 15 years ago, when I was having trouble with my knees, I did go see a doctor,†Whitlock said. “I went to a specialist and their diagnosis was nothing could be done and [my] running days [were] over…So I’ve done a lot of running since then.â€
(Note: The STUPID DOCTOR came up with the STUPID IDEA that ED WHITLOCK should STOP RUNNING!)
This seems as good a point as any to supply some data to support your growing suspicion that Whitlock was blessed with extraordinary genes. Sit in his kitchen and listen to him descend stairs, and you would think a teen was about to join you for afternoon tea. Whitlock, who says, "I stay away from doctors, they're bad people," last had a physical exam when he was 40. His uncle Arthur was Britain's oldest man when he died in 2000 at age 108. Whitlock last took an aspirin during World War II.
Of course, all great runners have good genes. What are the Whitlock secrets? There have to be secrets, right?
Only that there are no secrets. "I'm always willing to say what I do," Whitlock says, "but I don't know that it would work for any particular person. Everybody has to find out what works for them.
I don't follow what typical coaches say about serious runners. No physios, ice baths, massages, tempo runs, heart rate monitors. I have no strong objection to any of that, but I'm not sufficiently organized or ambitious to do all the things you're supposed to do if you're serious. The more time you spend fiddlediddling with this and that, the less time there is to run or waste time in other ways."
Whitlock also has a philosophical reason for stripping running to its essentials. "Running should be a pastime," he says. "All sports should be a pastime. There shouldn't be all this professional stuff. I believe that Paula Radcliffe is drug-free, but I do think she pushes the envelope of being a professional runner to the extreme. I don't mean to single her out, but she's living an artificial existence. She's always away from home or sleeping in an altitude chamber. She has this entourage of people constantly around her poking and prodding. That's so far away from what I do and how I would want to live. Monomania leads to terrible things."
(It is just a coincidence that Ms. Paula Radcliffe came up in this interview.)
http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/ed-whitlock-85-is-not-satisfied-with-his-latest-world-recordhttp://www.runnersworld.com/masters/ed-whitlock-and-the-age-of-simplicityGo Ed Whitlock!!!