Running Away To Get Away

McVie, why don’t you join us in running?

I have a car, thank you very much.

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If you think running is big now, it was even bigger way back in the early 80s.

The beginning of the 80s was all about fitness. Starting off the Decade of Greed and Me was Olivia Newton-John’s double-entendre call to get “Physical”—and the people enthusiastically responded. Running was all the rage. Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign began because of the running revolution. The local apparel line Botak was huge back then with their running shoes and apparel.

Running also ushered in the fitness movement. Thanks to Flashdance, leg warmers and gym clothes invaded everyday fashion. Even when I was with the high school theater group, our seniors forced us all to do several fun runs just for “health and fitness.”

Back then every serious runner had one bible: “The Complete Book of Running” by James F. Fixx. With the book, Jim Fixx popularized the sport by demonstrated the health benefits of regular jogging; in turn, he became known as the running guru.

Then on July 20, 1984, 52-year old Jim Fixx died of cardiac arrest while on a run. Despite reports that heart disease ran in his family, his death still cast pallor over the running world.

As if overnight, the runners disappeared. How does one run away from an ultimate, ironic, cosmic joke?

Coach Rio better make sure his family has no history of heart disease.