I agree with the geneticist guy, legalize everything

What do you say to the athlete who is highly talented, trains very hard and would have the opportunity to be one of the best in the world? Oh, except you're willing to let average runners beat them because it's just for your entertainment anyway and who cares if honest athletes want to compete and live to tell their grandchildren about it.

I believe that stefan celba = david goldman

It's true. How many professional athletes do you know of who've lived into their 70s? Long term training at a professional caliber IS NOT good for overall human health. The average life expectancy for an endurance runner with a ten year long career is 63 years. If your Richard Chelimo and you become HIV positive(not cancer as has been said), then you'll die in your thirties as he did. WIth a mean life expectancy of 49 years for the average Kenyan, the retired pro athletes die in their 50s. I guess all of that sweaty. jock bs ins't as good for your as the junkie life(if you don't OD), ask George Carlin, Keith Richards, Richard Harris.........

u know what,i think u should build your World running federation and get wwf staff to help u out.

wwf,wcw,wwe, are not sporting events.

they are basically entertainment.

You should know that there is no WCW anymore and WWF had to change their name to WWE. WCW folded a while back. Get it right...it's sport entertainment. The physicality is real, the blood is real, the pains are real. The competition is staged, but the physical bruising is real.

Alan

i know alan, otherwise i wouldnt mention wwe there! DUH!!!!

back to topic,

yeah set up your own running entertainment sport federation, and we'll see how. any records made are not considered records, how bout that?

but i dont think it would work, unless the elites want to join.

think.

That's bullshit. If professoinal athletes died younger than non-pro athletes it was because of the lifestyle they lead associated with their success. Mickey Mantle didn't dies because of athletic stresses. He died because he was an alcoholic. Bob Hayes didn't die from being a track star and professional fooball player. He died because he was an alcoholic. Roger Maris didn't die because of baseball. He died because he was a smoker. Jesse Owens didn't die because he was a great track athlete. He died because he smoked two packs a day.

Owens = ONE pack a day. Just keeping with the facts.

Malmo, It was actually 28 cigarettes a day on average. Not to nit-pick of course. That's 1.11 packs a day. (I think). How many in a pack? 25?

I'd be interested in seeing more info on strenuous training leading to shorten life expectency.

Overall, I would say its simply a genetic predetermined thing. Mantles male ancestors all died in their late-30's and 40's. Even if He did blow his liver out he outlived them by over 20 years. Possibly his athletic lifestyle? (that is if you can call baseball players athletes)

I would like to know the life spans of tour-de-france participants and Olympic marathon runners. There doesn't appear from what I've seen to be much difference than the normal range of non-athletes.

My grandfather is still around and is 85 and smokes a pack a day for 70 years. My other grandfather died at 67 of stroke. I'm going to probably take after one or the other regardless of how much running Ive done.

Remember that guy Walt Stack-got up every day, drank a shot, ran 10 miles and swam a mile. Every day until old age. Then you have someone like Nurmi who died in his 60's.

The one thing that would be interesting is to see if there really is a link to certain cancer's (Steve Scott, the anti-oxidant depletion theory) I still doubt if any of us would change our habits. I'm either running hard and goin at least 60 miles a week or its nothing. None of this healthy 30 to 40 minute easy jogging for me.

For all the short lived athletes there is an equal amount of long lived ones as well. You hear about all the athletes that die relatively young. You don't remember those that live a long time, because they are expected to. Sydney Wooderson is still alive(86?) as is Roger Bannister(75). Glenn Cunningham died of a heart attack at 78. Admittedly these guys didn't keep running nor did they train to the limit. Very few competitive runners run to prolong life. They run to improve. That's why quite a few stop altogether on retirement. In a study many people have stated they would take a drug that would guarantee an Olympic medal even if it would kill them in 10 years. Likely we would all keep training even if we found out that our training would do the same.

WHAT??? wrote:

What do you say to the athlete who is highly talented, trains very hard and would have the opportunity to be one of the best in the world?

Tell them what the Paula does, "sorry but you failed your B sample.

Oh, except you're willing to let average runners beat them because it's just for your entertainment anyway and who cares if honest athletes want to compete and live to tell their grandchildren about it.

No one seems to be concerned about it now. Why should it be any different in the future.

malmo wrote:

Owens = ONE pack a day. Just keeping with the facts.

Plus his pipe. Just keeping with the facts.

TRT wrote:

For all the short lived athletes there is an equal amount of long lived ones as well.

Larry Lewis ran 5 miles a day and worked full time as a waiter at age 106. Wife age 38 was pregnant at same time. Lived to age 111.