- SMWI*: Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration. Spoof of Nike’s “swoosh” symbol and “Just Do It” exercise ad campaign.
- Source: TheMetaPicture
Tag: Sports
Work-Out Inspiration: 100 years old. And still running.
- Fauja Singh ran his first marathon at age 89 and became an international sensation.
- Records? Fastest to run a marathon (male, over age 90), fastest to run 5,000 meters (male, over age 100), fastest to run 3,000 meters (male, over age 100), and on and on they went.
- By his second birthday, Fauja’s parents had cause for concern: He couldn’t walk. His legs were short and spindly, capable of movement but too weak to support his body. He turned 3. No steps yet. Then 4. Still crawling. Children called him danda, Punjabi for “stick.” Family members worried he might be crippled for life, so they consulted village doctors…At age 5, he developed enough strength to hobble. Proper walking didn’t come until around age 10.
- His goal? Get into the Guinness Book of World Records for finishing a Marathon at 100 years old. The race: The Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16, 2011. He’d finished in 8 hours, 25 minutes. He waved to the crowd as he walked across the line, then lifted his arms and accepted a medal. There were smiles and handshakes and photos with friends and strangers, then a rambling news conference for Fauja to reflect on his record. Amid the chaos and congratulations, however, Fauja never noticed the absence of one celebrant they’d expected. Guinness. (Guinness would not recognize Fauja Singh for the record. Read why at this link.)
Source: ESPN – The Runner. Hit this link to read the full story. Inspiring.
Epilogue: On February 23, 2013, Fauja Singh finished the Hong Kong 10km (6.25 mile) event in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds. (Source: BBC News – Oldest Man Runs His Last Race)
DK Note to Self: Get. Off. The. Couch.
Saturday Morning Work-Out Inspiration: “I wanted to fit in so badly”
A goose bump story from Deadspin. Anthony Robles was born poor and one-legged in Mesa, Arizona. Anthony never met his biological father. He longed for acceptance from his stepfather who wouldn’t forgive him for the color of his skin. He criticized his step-son mercilessly and physically abused his Mother in his presence. Anthony was bullied at school and he chose wrestling to toughen up. He lost every match at first. Then he found the key… Opponents were baffled. Four years later he was a national champion. And now he planned to quit a sport just as he had come to dominate.
Whether you love, hate or are indifferent about sports or wrestling, this is one of the most powerful human interest stories that I’ve read. Some excerpts:
“The day Robles entered the world, doctors whisked him from the delivery room, to spare his mother, 16 years old and single, the shock of seeing her one-legged child. He was what’s known as a congenital amputee, and the cause of his condition remains unknown. When the doctors finally returned him to his mother, she looked her boy over carefully and predicted that the smooth declivity where his right leg should have been marked the end of her freedom forever.”
“Three years later, another doctor thought Robles would walk better with a prosthesis and fitted him with a heavy artificial leg. The boy promptly took it off when he got home and hid it behind a piece of furniture. At five, he shinnied 50 feet up a pole outside his house.”
“But if Robles was willful and assured by nature, a childhood of being stared at and taunted eventually saddled him with terrible self-consciousness. ‘I wanted to fit in so badly,’ he later said of his elementary and junior high school years. ‘For a while I tried to hide … to be camouflaged.’ But the bullies were not put off, and Robles gave up trying to disguise his differences.”
Continue reading “Saturday Morning Work-Out Inspiration: “I wanted to fit in so badly””
I should have stayed out there…
“I learned that when the going gets tough, I’ve got to stick in there a bit more and I’ve got to grind it out. There’s no excuse for quitting, and it doesn’t set a good example for the kids watching me, trying to emulate what I do. It wasn’t good for a whole lot of reasons, for the tournament, the people coming out to watch me. I feel like I let a lot of people down with what I did last week and you know, for that I am very sorry.”
~ Rory McIlroy, 23, is the world’s No. 1 golfer.
He was seven over par after eight holes and looking at another potential bogey or worse after his second shot on the par-5 18th landed in the water. He withdrew without finishing his ninth hole. An hour later, he released a statement saying a sore wisdom tooth had made it impossible for him to continue.
Good for you young man. Good for you to own up…
Source: New York Times
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Moonwalk
The video share is courtesy of Anake Goodall…a long standing blog roll member from down under – – and a man with an eye that captures my full attention with his posts each morning. This clip features Dean Potter (aka “The Man Who Can Fly“). Potter walks a highline at Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park as the sun sets and the full moon rises. Beautiful. Mesmerizing.
Source: Thank you Anake Goodall. Be sure to check out his blog.
Un-Related Posts but one of my favorites from the archives: