The Ultimate Running Machine

from the technology-taking-over dept

When I was a kid, I loved long-distance running. At the time, Alberto Salazar was the marathoner everyone was talking about, and I wanted to run like he did. Of course, I eventually screwed up my knees, which put a damper on my running plans. I had no idea what happened to Salazar until I read the following article about Salazar running this bizarre Nike-sponsored, technology-controlled, training program for long distance runners. The whole program sounds a little sketchy. Basically Salazar is willing to try out any unproven technology if he thinks it'll make the runners in his program better. So, the runners are living in this special "altitude house" that is really at sea level, but which pumps out oxygen to pretend it's much higher. They're using some weird Russian software to determine how healthy each of the runners are (though, some of the runners don't agree with the software's assessments), and random other technologies to give his runners an "edge". It sounds like the premise for a bad movie. Where are the runners who train with crusty old coaches in meat lockers and who run up famous staircases to inspiring music to compete against these technology-enhanced uber-runners?

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