Most Memorable Running Experience: Completing
My 1st
Marathon --- OH WHAT A FEELING!
I prepared for the Houston Marathon with my
running club, the
Houston
Striders.
We prepared for five months beginning in late
August up to
Marathon
day,
January 14, 2007. This means
training in weather that's about 99 degrees 100% humidity! I
would never have thought than I would be ever so grateful for the
long runs of 22 miles. Somehow the 26.2 did not seem so far after
that. Sparing all of the details, I completed the race; 4 hours and
37 minutes. It was great and
I actually had enough left to sit around talking for and hour and
actually walked out to my car after that. What a great feeling!!!!
NEXT!
2007/2008
NBMA Scholarship Applications
The 2007/2008 applications are now available for high school
cross country and distance runners. If you know of any deserving
seniors, be sure to tell them to visit our site to retrieve an
application form. The deadline is April 15, 2007.
2007
Sickle Cell Road Race
Saturday,
April 14, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Welcome
All Park - 4255 Will Lee Road, College
Park, GA
This 28th annual Sickle Cell Road
Race is a challenging 7K run (4.3 miles), and 4K walk (2.5 miles).
Registered run and walk participants will receive a t-shirt
and an opportunity to compete in one of the oldest road races in
South
Fulton
County
. You can register at www.active.com.
The Sickle Cell Road Race is put on by South
Fulton Running Partners. A
recreational not-for-profit running
organization founded in 1979. SFRP is the oldest Black
running club in the
United States
and the originator of the Sickle Cell Road Race. The club’s
purpose is to promote running as a means of developing and
maintaining good health; to plan, organize, and sponsor running
events for worthy not-for-profit organizations and to contribute the
race profits to such organizations; to assist other not-for-profit
organizations in planning and conducting running events; and to
educate the community on the art and science of recreational
running.
Facts about Sickle
Cell Disease
What is Sickle Cell Disease?
It is an inherited blood disease which can cause bouts of
pain, damage to vital organs, and for some, death in childhood or
early adulthood. Sickle cell disease affects a protein inside the
red blood cells called hemoglobin. It
occurs when a person inherits two sickle cell genes or a combination
of one sickle cell gene plus any one of several other abnormal
hemoglobin genes that affect the red blood cells.
Hemoglobin in the red blood cells caries oxygen from the lungs
and takes it to every part of the body. A change in the oxygen
carrying hemoglobin inside red blood cells causes the symptoms of
sickle cell disease. Red blood cells are normally round and
flexible. But when oxygen is released by the red blood cells in
people with sickle cell disease, the cells become distorted, forming
a rigid banana or sickle that can clog blood vessels.
Sickle cells tend to become trapped and destroyed in the liver
and in the spleen. This results in a shortage of red blood cells
called anemia which, when severe, can cause the patient to be pale,
short of breath and easily tired. Certain conditions--such as
infections--may worsen a patient's anemia by speeding up destruction
of red blood cells or reducing red blood cell production.
Medical Problems
The sickle cells also block the flow of blood through vessels
resulting in lung tissue damage (acute chest syndrome), pain
episodes (arms, legs, chest and abdomen), stroke and priapism
(painful prolonged erection). It also causes damage to most organs
including the spleen, kidneys and liver. Damage to the spleen makes
sickle cell disease patients, especially young children, easily
overwhelmed by certain bacterial infections. (SCDAA)
What are some of the hemoglobin variants?
The more common types of abnormal hemoglobins are those which
cause the red blood cells to develop a sickle shape rather than it's
normal round shape.
This change from a round to sickle shape causes the pain crisis
experienced by many individuals who have sickle cell disease.
Disorders such as SS (Sickle Cell Anemia),
SC (Sickle Cell Hemoglobin C Disease), SD (Sickle Cell Hemoglobin D
Disease) and SE (Sickle Cell Hemoglobin E Disease) are referred to
as sickle cell disease.
At present, there is no cure for sickle cell disease. Only the
clinical problems (symptoms) are treated. The clinical features
associated with sickle cell diseases (other than sickle cell anemia)
are usually not as severe as the symptoms associated with sickle
cell anemia itself. Some sickle cell patients tire easily, have pain
in their joints, stomach cramps, and retardation growth, yellow
jaundice (yellow tinge to the white of the eyeballs), leg ulcers,
frequent colds and infections and restriction of physical
activities.
Another abnormal hemoglobin condition is sickle cell trait (AS).
Individuals who have sickle cell trait are usually healthy and do
not have problems under normal conditions. However, persons who have
sickle cell trait are advised against flying in unpressurized
aircraft at an altitude above 8,000 feet or deep sea diving due to
the possibly of sickling of the red blood cells. If a person who has
sickle cell trait should ever see blood in his/her urine (hematuria),
he/she should see a doctor immediately.
The existence of sickle cell is not felt to be "all
bad". Some researchers believe sickle cell trait servers as
a protection against a severe form of malaria fever (Falciparum
Malaria).
If
both parents have sickle cell trait, the chance is one in four (25%)
that the child will be normal; two in four (50%) that the child will
have sickle cell trait; and one in four (25%) that the child will
have sickle cell anemia.
Running Marathons Down South -
The Antarctica & Fin Del Mundo Marathons
Six continents down and one continent remaining. That's what I
thought as I finished the Fin Del Mundo (End of the World) Marathon
in Ushuaia, Argentina on March 6. This was only eight days after
finishing the grueling Last Marathon on Antarctica.
During the
Antarctica Marathon, we ran 3/4-mile up a glacier and turned around
for the descent. It was a sheet of ice at a 17 degree
angle with wind gusts of up to 40 MPH and snow. There weren't any
trees or buildings to block the wind. (This made the 3,600 steps
during the Great Wall of China Marathon look like an escalator.) Did
I mention that we had to do this twice; around 3 miles AND 17
miles???
Just add a little
more variety to the course, we also ran through about 600 feet of
ankle deep mud on four occasions while dodging seals, penguins, and
sky diving skua birds. The unmanned aid stations consisted of water
bottles deposited in the snow.
It was so cold that some runners
had problems removing their shoes. Some runners had their frozen
shoelaces cut off. Hot water was poured over another runner's shoes
to remove them. Fortunately for me, 200 pounds of weight (and lots
of body heat) on size 13 shoes made these removal methods
unnecessary!!!
After this
experience, I'll never complain about a hill or cold weather again!!!
(This made the ING Georgia Marathon seem flat!!!)
The
pain of the marathon quickly went away as we explored the natural
beauty of the area. The entire trip
was documented in my journal at http://reed-cpa.com/antarctica_2007.htm
. It includes photos from our experiences in Buenos Aires and
Ushuaia, Argentina and the Antarctica excursion. The final continent
left
in my Seven Continents Goal is Africa.
Inaugural 2007 ING Georgia Marathon and Half
Marathon
If you missed the ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon, you
missed a good time. Several of the NBMA members met for a pre-race dinner.
Afterwards, we showered and "limped" to a post-race
Mexican lunch. We replenished our carbos with margaritas.
Myth
& Reality: Black Americans and the Marathon Distance
This documentary was produced by
Gregory Evans. He's also a NBMA member in the Chicago area. This
documentary explores the lack of interest and/or barriers to
distance running by Black Americans. Approximately 1% of Black
Americans participate in marathons in urban areas.
There's video footage from the
LaSalle Bank Chicago, LA, and Boston Marathons. Interviewees
included Meb Keflezighi (2004 Olympic silver medalist), Frank Short,
Bill Rogers, Amby Burfoot, and Joan Benoit Samuelson. Also, race
directors, sports writers, running club members, sponsors, and
professional and amateur runners were interviewed. A member of the
Cincinnati's Avondale Running Club was interviewed on the DVD.
Additional information about the
documentary may be found at www.sportschicago.com.
New
Mailing Address
Our post office box has changed.
This has been reflected throughout our website.
