Running for Peace: Funny Commercial

In the Netherland there is an initiative called "the week of peace". As the programm does not reach enough young people the organizers came up with the idea of "the night of peace" with a programm that should appeal to younger people.

Below you see the commercial for this night featuring Jan Pronk. A Dutch politician who was always fighting for equal rights, peace, the under develloped countries. Etc. He is internationaly well known for his UN work and was recently the special UN representative for Darfur.

For those who do not speak dutch...the only lines spoken are at the end and are translated underneath the embedded clip. Read them afterwards otherwise it is to much of a give away:

The spoken lines are:
His Wife: "Did you have a nice run, Jan?"
He: "Yes but I feel I'm getting older."
The pay off, of the commercial is "Wanted; Next generation of Peacefighters"

How to run: lesson 1

As most people on the web are aware YouTube is a fine source of videos on lotst of different topices. Browsing trough them you'll get across some nice ones about running. This one gives a nice overview of thetechnique of running.

A few remarks before we start:

Maybe the running lady in the intro should have worn a (better) sportsbra. As the voiceover mentions that a wrong posture can lead to injuries so can wrong gear.

The voiceover mentions that the body should be slightly tilted forwards...I have watched closely but to me it is straight up with the runner.

No it is not a muppet popping up. The video was, I think German, and this fellow is the original commentator.

When they switch from addressing the boy to addressing the legs you might say that they manage to state THE BLOODY OBVIOUS with the voice-over "Your legts are the most important part of your body for running".

The text "Most runners are forefoot runners by nature"is not incorrect persee. But lets face it... Most runners only use this technique at high speed. OTherwise the land on their heel. Just take a look at an average sunday in the park neer you or at the next running event you watch in your town.

Well besides these remarks from a grumpy old man...enjoy the film:

Adidas Commercial

I just came across this funny add for Adidas Running Shoes...switch on sound for the swinging track

Runners bashing

On a Dutch blog on Fitness I found four arguments why you should not be running. I tried to find the original article on www.bccorefitness.com. However as the post on the Dutch blog is in English check it out on the Dutch fitnessblog.

The four arguments are:

1. Every landing is a strain on you body: Yeah sure, and lifting weights or loosing fat to show of muscles is very natural and healthy? If I am not mistaken we originate from the early humans that ran on the plains of africa to hunt for food. SO you could compare humans with running animals like a cheetah. Never saw them doing fitness!
2. Marathon Runners do not have a great body: Hmmm for toprunners that run for the prizemoney they might be right but honestly I prefer an well trained body of runner over some of the bodies shown on the site of bc core fitness. O yes, the argue that running a marathon will consume precious muscle tissue. They are kind of right on that point but that is why the average runner does not run more than two marathons a year. A well trained runner will recover in no time.
3. Runners should not have strength and power due to the mediocre pace of training. This is an argument that shows a complete lack of understanding of the way we runners train. I challenge a fitnesser anytime to run op a hill, do an interval at 90% HRmax, etc....
4. Last but not least they argue: Running is no, I repeat, NO good cardio exercise. Excuse me, there is no other sport that enables you to burn calories so effectively, train your heart muscle, lower your rest heartbeat, reduce your percentage of body fat 'und so weiter, und so weiter'. They also argue that, as the heart is an muscle, you will loose heartmuscle tissue when running a marathon, like with argument #2 for the legmuscles. There they might be wrong as well. Running a marathon you use your legs at the maximum of their capabilities on endurence because your legs are not programmed to go on and on with moving. Your heart muscle however is programmed for endurance and for somepeople this endurance might last for over an century. During the marathon you only boost it to, lets say, 60% of your HRmax...Okay if you are not well trained or have a defect there is a risk.

Well why bother; It is a matter of taste which sport you like and I like running. It makes me feel good, going out in sun, rain, wind, heath or cold. Experience the outdoor building my resistance, feeling nature and exploring places. These experiences are hard to gain in a gym. I just keep on running.

Nike running shoe puts on weight!!

In contrast to the trend that shoes get lighter and lighter here is a Nike model that puts on weight....

I think this is a running shoe that will not help with losing weight. Maybe you should consider weight watchers if you think of using this kind of shoe.