Harvard’s Dr. Harvey Simon has long espoused the benefits of moderate exercise. But in reading The Wall Street Journal yesterday, I learned that Dr. Simon holds himself to a higher standard. His daughter, Journal reporter Stephanie Simon, writes that her dad is in the midst of a 30-year running streak. The last day her dad didn’t run was Oct. 30, 1978.
When he travels overseas, my dad, who is 66, plans layovers so he can get in a couple miles around the concourse, lest he miss a day to the time-zone shift. During blizzards, he wraps his feet in plastic bags, pulls galoshes over his sneakers and screws in cleats for traction. Then he waits for a snowplow to pass his front door, so he can follow in the freshly cleared path.
My father, Dr. Harvey B. Simon, practices internal medicine in Boston and teaches at Harvard Medical School. Rationally, he knows that running 10 miles a day, every day, for three decades is not great for his ever-more-creaky body. He’d never advise his patients to do it. In fact, he’s written several health and fitness books stressing the virtue of moderation in exercise. And yet….
He’s run with broken toes and the flu and a nasty infected heel and near-crippling back spasms. He goes out before dawn in every kind of weather; he’s become such a fixture in the neighborhood that a couple times when a freak thunderstorm has rolled in, strangers have driven out to find him. They didn’t know his name. They just knew he’d be out there, plodding away, and figured he might appreciate a ride home.
Ms. Simon notes that her dad isn’t alone in “this nutty obsession.” I’ve never heard of the U.S. Running Streak Association, but the group apparently lists 31 members who have been running daily for 30 years or more. “The reigning champ is a running coach out of California by the name of Mark Covert. He hasn’t missed a day since he was 17. He’s now 57,” writes The Journal.
Dr. Harvey Simon and his daughter, Stephanie.The bigger question is why they do it. The Journal notes that for some “streakers,” the run adds structure to their day. For others, the accomplishment “represents a triumph over aging.” Dr. Simon started running for health reasons, to lose weight and keep his cholesterol and blood pressure under control.
Despite his own running obsession, Dr. Simon, thankfully, makes a strong case that such dedication to exercise isn’t necessary for good health. In his book “The No Sweat Exercise Plan,” Dr. Simon advocates moderate physical activity that he calls “cardiometabolic” exercise. This includes daily walks, additional housework, gardening and just a general increase in routine activity. “Somebody can get the health benefits of exercise without ever buying a pair of sneakers,” Dr. Simon told me once in an interview.
To read more about Dr. Simon’s running streak, see the full Journal story, “Still Running After All These Years.” And to hear more from Dr. Simon and others about the health benefits of moderate exercise, read this article I wrote when I was still at The Journal called “Why Your New Year’s Resolution to Get Healthier May Be Easy to Keep.”
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Diagnosis: OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
— jackAll I can say to this is, “To each his own.”
I’m guessing there will be several choruses on the virtues consistent exercise VS the evils of excessiveness.
From a whole lot of experience studying and understanding habitual behavior, I can only say that each person has his/her own explicit and subconscious reasons for habitual behaviors, and I wouldn’t begin to second-guess anything about this.
For example, running every single day could represent so many things, as a powerful metaphor for someone with particular values or emotional needs.
I admire that this man does not confuse his own preference or obsession (whatever) with a normal need for others’ health. He doesn’t seem to rationalize or justify his behavior by becoming a zealot.
— WesleyI wish people would let go of the idea that tapering off exercise intensity only because you’re getting older (versus in response to an injury) is advisable. Quite simply, use it or lose it. Continuing to exercise vigorously, even if vigorous at 70 is less than what you were doing at 30, will not necessarily hurt you, and will probably help you. I doubt that Dr. Simon would feel better or age better if he suddenly switched to walking. Sure, moderate exercise is great, but sensible vigorous exercise is great, too.
— CCThe disconnect that someone such as Dr. Simon can have between what he advocates for his patients/others (his book on moderation in exercise) and what he actually does (an extreme exerciser) is interesting and important to note. However, it is also the flip side of what we typically see in medicine. A provider (who doesn’t exercise themselves) often tells their patients that they should make time in their daily life to exercise. Part of this disconnect is because physicians haven’t been well trained about what truly gets in their own way to regular exercise, let alone their patients. I train healthcare providers around the country about how to help their female patients overcome their unique psycho-social barriers to exercising so they can sustain physically active lives. The biggest one women face is what I refer to as “caretakeritis”; a condition that is symptomatic of overusing the caretaker muscle, feeling selfish for taking time for oneself, and the inability to “say no” to others. The physicians in my trainings say, that they themselves have internalized the role of caretaker and don’t feel comfortable prioritizing their own self-care, and can’t truly advocate that their patients do it. I think we need to do a better job of educating the primary advocates people have for exercising (aka: their healthcare providers) how to do this specific job better. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to prevent disease and also to help manage chronic illnesses. The fact that physicians and their patients aren’t benefiting from this incredible elixir of life simply because they haven’t learned the right mindset and approach to exercising is tragic. We need to get much smarter and more strategic with our approach to training providers about what truly gets in their, and their patients, way of sustaining physically active lives.
Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH
— Michelle Segar, PhD, MPHResearch Investigator
Institute for Research on Women and Gender
University of Michigan
fitness@umich.edu
http://www.essentialsteps.net
Earlier this year, I came across a study that tracked the health of men who ran regularly from their 40s into their 70s. There were significant and amazing benefits to their health, including a much lower death rate and rate of disease among them than the general population, but MOST fascinating (and I rarely use caps), the runners showed, on average, a 15 YEAR DELAY in any age-related cognitive decline. 15 years is HUGE! So I’m going to suggest that part of the addiction might be a brain-related benefit.
Also, the runners had no higher rate of muscle or skeletal injuries than nonrunners– in other words, all the predictions that daily running would wear out your knees or create creaky joints were wrong.
Bruce Springsteen probably doesn’t even know how right he got it, but maybe we were truly born to run.
— FrancoisBig deal. I can’t say every day, but I ran almost every day for 40 years, including when traveling; rode my bicycle 25 miles on Sat. and Sun.; went to the gym 3 times a week; hiked in the mountains for vacation. I’m 78, still work full time (started a new career 10 years ago). Blood work and cardiovascular still normal. I don’t know if exercise helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
— Weird HaroldKudos all streakers!
Consider it this way: we have not physically evolved much (if any) since we were cavemen. Back before modern agriculture and irrigation were invented, we had to run and hunt every day. Darwinism doesn’t care if you have the flu or broken toes — you still need to feed your young or else your bloodline dies.
So I find this perfectly natural and primal. Awesome.
— Berto at PricePlow.comI run every day for one basic reason:
— Ashley TrailrunnerRunning brings me overwhelming joy.
Running regularly is great. Running every day without a chance to rest and regenerate muscles and joints is not so good. Being so compulsive that broken bones, surgeries and the entirety of life are secondary to your obsession is just bad.
I’m all about regular exercise and guilty of being borderline compulsive at times. But being obsessively vigorous to the extent where a streak becomes more important than health is not something to be celebrated.
— RSI’m on a streak, too - a non-running streak. Haven’t run in 80 years, and don’t intend to start now. Heart still running, though.
— ExBritDr. Simon looks fantastic–and truly, to each his own. I say Mazel Tov!
My 59 year old husband has been running for about 36 years. Definitely, not daily. After a couple of injuries & mono, somehow he came across an easy-does-it, easy-on-the-joints method of training for long runs.
On Nov. 22 he ran the JFK 50-miler (in below freezing weather) & he ran maybe 3 days a week to train for it. Only 1 day a week did he run for hours–and I mean hours.
Adding yoga a day or two a week & biking for another (when the weather was good) seemed to do it.
The only thing he does obsessively is to run 10 miles on his birthday–which came 5 days after the JFK. 9 years ago, when he ran his last 50-miler he slacked off, and we walked the 10 miles together.
According to him, he’s never felt better and I’ve got to agree with him. I say he owes it all to green smoothies (crammed with veggies), balanced exercise & my healthy cooking.
I have to say, after reading in July about Michael Bicks’ heart attack during a regular Sunday bike ride, I was really nervous about his running a 50 mile race. I made him promise to run with a heart rate monitor.
If you’re interested in the Michael Bicks/Tim Russert story, click here:
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2008/07/
im-healthy-i-exercise-i-eat-right—im-heart-attack-proof-not-a-moment-to-soon-i-thought-of-tim-russert.html
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com
— The Healthy Librarian5 or 15 miles…running everyday helps me deal with stress.
— BPHealthy Librarian — care to share a green smoothie recipe?
— FrancoisHi Francois,
Here’s one of my usual recipes-the link below.
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2008/08/
whats-working—whats-not-my-green-smoothie-update-from-the-juicy-china-study.html
But I do mix it up. Always use kale, chard, spinach or collards–lacinato kale and spinach are the mildest. I sometimes add kiwi or grapes, carrots & even left-over salad.
I recently learned that the grinding up of the tough cellulose membranes makes the veggies more bioavailable to the body–don’t have scientific documentation for that one–but it sounds plausible.
It’s much easier to drink, than chew–that’s for sure.
— The Healthy LibrarianI have cancer and am in my 30’s. I used to be a dancer, but I now hate to exercise. I see all of these cancer survivors running marathons and I cringe with guilt and revulsion. Nothing made me happier than my trip to an acupuncturist, a guy in Chinatown who specializes in oncology and speaks little English. I asked him for a diet and exercise regimen. He said three words: variety and moderation. Then he changed the subject.
http://everythingchangesbook.blogspot.com/
— Kairol RosenthalOops, sorry Francois.
That Green Smoothie recipe post address & the one for Michael Bicks were too long to get you to the right posts.
If you’re interested here’s how to see them.
Go to:
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com
Scroll down a bit & look on the right for the Most Popular Posts.
Look for:
1.) What’s Working - What’s Not: My Green Smoothie Adventure Update from the Juicy China Study August 9
2.) I’m Healthy, I Exercise, I Eat Right - I’m Heart-Attack Proof. “Not a Moment Too Soon I Thought of Tim Russert”
July 8
Alternate method–scroll down more & look in the archives.
Sorry to post “false links”.
— The Healthy LibrarianEverything to excess, I always say. Of course, I know some people–not all–who had hip and knee jobs from this sort of devotion.
— StarThank you HL! And I loved that article “Not a Moment Too Soon” — I emailed it to my whole company, in fact.
— FrancoisInternal medicine, huh? And runs with a flu?
The father of a teenage friend was also, and he had absolutely zero tolerance for his daughter exercising with the slightest touch of flu. She could twist him around her finger in everything else but this. Lowercase jack may be onto something, this time.
— Susanna***The caveman diet people say running gives you heart attacks therefore advocating it is irresponsible and people will die.***
Everybody who wants to say the above, I’ve done it for you; now you have extra time for holiday shopping!
— Nom, nom, nom!It’s 13 degrees outside, and I didn’t want to go for my run today, but this story was so motivational to me that I did as Dr. Simon says he does, and went left, right, left, right, and came back from my 6 miler feeling ready to conquer the day. Thanks for sharing such a great story TPP!
— AnnaThere was recently an article in Runner’s World about an 81 year old woman getting ready to run her 25th NYC marathon (or something along those lines). I am a regular runner and I HOPE I will be running into my 80’s. It really does keep you young!
— SharonI feel incredibly lazy after reading this.
— RunningSay what you want. I admire the man.
— ALNIf he can tolerate it and he feels good, who cares? I run regularly (4-5 days per week) at low mileage (4-5 miles, and have done so for several decades. It is a habit, healthy but unglamorous, like flossing my teeth. IfI don’t start out the day with a run (at 0530, unfortunately in the dark this time of year, but with my canine buddy who never lets me down) I feel listless and cranky. The extra hour of sleep I will occasionally steal is seldom worth it, unless I am sick. I just hope my joints hold out. May need to change to walking someday if they don’t. God, I hope I never have to cycle, like my husband, or swim. That would make me miserable.
— collycolly