Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 07, 2014

Yes, please stop parroting the myths about running ruining your joints. You are obviously just trying to feel better about your own laziness.

Perhaps he should adopt the Kenyan method and run barefoot. (He is on a teacher’s salary after all.)

Carl42SG: Not just Kenya. I recall the breakthrough was by an Ethiopian at the Rome Olympics marathon.

The shoes are actually responsible for most injuries. There isn’t a shoe out there that has been proven to prevent injury.

Why is it that here on Frazz there are so many folks who are so polarized? Why on Earth would ANYONE get upset because a person exercises…. and ENJOYS exercising? Why would another person take the annoyance expressed about exercising and turn it around and create a diatribe about folks who DO NOT exercise and may (gasp) be overweight? To my manner of thinking, it is this shear INTOLERANCE of allowing people to choose their own lifestyle activities that I find annoying as hell. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Up until about 9 or 10 years ago, I was obese and did not regularly exercise…. but I never berated those that did exercise…. in fact I found their perseverance admirable. About 9 or 10 years ago, I started exercising and found myself enjoying it. For me, it has been helpful in transitioning from being obese to being of “normal” weight. But, I do not now denigrate heavier people. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++What the hell has happened in our society that makes so many folks feel that extreme, absolutist views, with not sense of tolerance for differences IS ACCEPTABLE?!?!? It is annoying.

I ran for over 35 years with zero running related injuries. One of my secrets of longevity was rotating through 3 different pairs of shoes, always of different age and often different models, so my knees and hips and feet never had identical stress two days in a row.

Unrelated to any running, I sprained one knee; then, a few years later, dislocated my other one eventually requiring surgery and over a year of rehab. I got back to walking, then running, finally running 3 10ks and finishing first in the over 70 division of each. But, with age, tendons and ligaments become somewhat more injury prone and arthritis begins to raise its head as well so I’ve now become strictly a walker.

If I could run in slow motion like the people in the shoe ads, I’d run. As it is, the ground always seems to catch up too soon. Maybe I’m proportioned to run on Mars, where the gravity’s lower and the hang time is longer.

@pumaman Not running doesn’t make a person lazy. I enjoy regular exercise, but due to chronic pain and asthma, I don’t run. I love exercise though. My hubby’s been a runner for 23 years, and it’s taking a toll on his body in the form of frequent injury and chronic pain. He and his doctors realize that he’ll need to stop running soon, but he’ll always be active.

I get annoyed at people who get annoyed at people who point out that people get annoyed at people.

Guys, I’m pretty sure the thing about running causing joint problems was part of a comic that made fun of Miss Olsen’s smoking addiction and hypocrisy from like two years ago

Sorry, Al. Didn’t mean to imply that ALL shoes cause injuries. I said: THE (running) shoes. Shoes, in general, don’t allow the muscles in the feet to work properly. Look at a baby’s bare foot – it’s PERFECT. Zero drop soled shoes are much better for you than elevated heels, pinched toes and arch supports. They allow you to walk like your barefoot, and keep your body properly aligned.

I remember the days when Burke was overweight. It’s always great to see that his lifestyle change wasn’t just a fad