Monday, October 2, 2017

Evanston: BREAKING 2

        I just watched online BREAKING 2, an excellent hour long National Geographic documentary about a Nike sponsored highly coordinated attempt to run a marathon in less than two hours.  Seeking optimum conditions:  low altitude, flat, no sharp curves, cool temperature, the attempt was made at Italy’s Monza Formula One Grand Prix race track.  The world record for a real marathon is 2 hours 2 minutes and 57 seconds set in Berlin.  
        The three runners chosen for the attempt were all East Africans, from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya, and I enjoyed the footage and insights into their lives there.
        While I am long on the record as believing that statements such as “No man has limits” are absurd and think that calling the attempt ‘epic’ is excessive, certainly many limitations are self-imposed and almost everyone can extend his or her limits if determined to try.

        
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        Of pushing limits Michael recently wrote:
         I am glad Gannet is dry and in a strange way the keel cracks make me feel like you have truly sailed to the edge on this voyage. You are still exploring limits. I have no doubt they will be fixed but they are the marks of a sailor who doesn't hold back. Scars of which you can both be proud.