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Week of June 20, 2006 - June 26, 2006

This Is What All the Protests Are Really About
June 25, 2006

Congratulations to Alston Brown, who is now an American citizen. That gives him the right to vote, serve on a jury and take all the American age group records.

Corporate Challenge
June 25, 2006

Frank Handelman was back at the Corporate Challenge this week, 29 years after winning the inaugural race. On Wednesday he reenacted his victory wearing street clothes. And on Thursday he pulled out an old Legal Aid singlet and actually ran the race. The official website has the whole story, but doesn't mention just how rare it is to see Frank run on the roads these days.

Wall of Orange
June 25, 2006

The Dutch may have lost in the World Cup, but their fans have shown us how we should all dress for the Wall of Orange at this year's marathon.

Week of June 13, 2006 - June 19, 2006

World Cup Update
June 19, 2006

We're sure you've all been sneaking out of work to watch the World Cup, so we don't need say anything about the actual games. But do you know how your teammates are doing in our World Cup Pool? Now that every team has played two games, we figured it was a good time for an update. The results, so far:

Rank	Entry, Owner	Points	Percentile
1	Federman Entry1, Jon Federman	22	96.2
	Ogita Entry1, Yumi Ogita	22	96.2
	Call, Elizabeth Call (non-CPTC)	22	96.2
4	Pfeffer Entry1, Russ Pfeffer	21	89.6
	Schaffer Entry1, Brian Schaffer	21	89.6
	Joga Bonita, Alan Piket	21	89.6
7	Argentina Mas Fina, John Affleck	20	79.0
	Sunnyside Deadballs, Sang Yul Bae (non-CPTC)	20	79.0
	No Eye Deer, David Maurice	20	79.0
	Reggae Boyz, Hung Yul Bae (non-CPTC)	20	79.0
	Levine Entry1, Marty Levine	20	79.0
	Keep the Joga Alive, Jesse Lansner	20	79.0
13	WoliegtBerlinho, Ray Prybylski	19	66.2
	Soong, Roland Soong	19	66.2
15	Feldman Entry1, Josh Feldman	18	53.9
	Ruben Entry1, Alan Ruben	18	53.9
17	(Three) Lions Roar, Kristina Maletz	17	43.6
	Former Footballer Says..., Chris Price	17	43.6
19	Yamazaki Entry1, Takeshi Yamazaki	16	36.0
20	ask the europeans, Felice Kelly	6	16.4
	Price Entry1, Chris Price	6	16.4

Boy, Felice Kelly really can't pick 'em, huh? And neither can one of Chris Price's personalities... Actually it's more accurate to say that they didn't pick 'em, since all their picks are the default of the away team. (We included them both in here because Felice is still in the running for best entry name). More interesting are the picks everyone else made. So far, nobody has picked against Brazil. On the other hand, everyone thought Mexico would beat Angola. And more than half the participants (including us) allowed their hearts to cloud their judgment in picking the U.S. to tie or beat the Czech Republic.

Members with strong ties to other nations in the tournament were not always so blind. Roland Soong's Australian jingoism didn't extend far enough to pick them to beat Japan. Alan Ruben thought England would only tie Paraguay. Both the Baes (friends of ours who don't run) thought Korea would lose to France. At least Casey and Yumi both picked Japan to have six points by now, though the true test of their faith will come when Japan plays Brazil on Thursday. More updates at the end of the first round, or whenever we get around to them.

Photos
June 18, 2006

Thom Little has photos of the Father's Day 5-Miler. Sue Pearsall has photos from last Tuesday's track meet at Icahn.

Volunteers Needed
June 16, 2006

Last month we invited you folks to participate in the Manhattan Island Foundation's summer swims and warned "if you don't start signing up to race or volunteer soon, we're just going to have to print even more shameless appeals here until you do." Well, it's time for one of those shameless appeals. Our biggest race — the 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim — is coming up on Saturday, June 24, and we still need lots of volunteers. Our biggest need is for kayakers to guide the swimmers, and boat observers to make sure the swimmers don't drown. The latter job is the easier one; all you have to do is spend the day on a boat taking a nice tour around Manhattan and working on your tan, and every now and then look over at your swimmer and make sure he's doing okay. Or, if you get inspired by people swimming for 6-8 hours non-stop, you can spend your day watching and cheering them on. And then you get to have a nice dinner with them all at Southwest NY in the World Financial Center.

To sign up, visit the Foundation's website, or email Marilyn Shaw at mshaw@nycswim.org. Orientation meetings are next Monday and Tuesday, so please sign up now.

We Still Think Bob Hayes Could Beat Him
June 16, 2006

From The Onion:

Justin Gatlin: 'Under The Right Conditions, I Can Run The 100 In 3.2 seconds'
June 15, 2006 | Onion Sports

RALEIGH, NC—American sprinter Justin Gatlin recently announced that he can easily surpass his own world record in the 100 meters (9.77 seconds) by nearly 6.5 seconds if the conditions are just right. "If the winds behind me are similar to that of a Category 4 hurricane without the rain and hail; the course we are running on is a steep, flat drop from the apex of a tall mountain; my shoes are three ounces lighter than usual and sport aerodynamic jet propellers; my mother is in the stands cheering, but not loud enough to the point where it is distracting; the other participants in the race are chasing me with weapons; and I neglect to wear my lucky but weighty gold chain, there is no question that I can run it in 3.2 seconds," Gatlin said. "My coach and I have simulated these conditions in practice, and I ran it in 3.7 seconds. With the added adrenaline of a real race, who knows how low I can go." U.S. racing officials have said that, though they wouldn't mind watching this race, any record-breaking time recorded under these conditions would lack legitimacy.

Week of June 6, 2006 - June 12, 2006

Mini Photos
June 12, 2006

Photos from Saturday's race have been posted by Thom Little and Patrick Cowden. Plus we may even post some here in a day or two.

Andre William Gerhardt
June 12, 2006

Welcome to Andrea William Gerhardt; 7 lbs. 8 oz., 20.5 inches (same as sister Amalia at birth). Mom (Bernadette Wehr), dad (Tyronne Culpepper) and baby are all doing fine.

But Will She Wear an Orange Dress?
June 9, 2006

Congratulations to Coach Devon and Noah Lansner, who got engaged last weekend. For those who don't who Noah is, he's our younger brother and has run for CPTC on and off for the last few years (obviously his attendence at workouts and races has greatly improved in recent months). For those who don't know who Devon is, why exactly are you reading this page?

Yes, Runners Can Be That Boring
June 9, 2006

From an ESPN column on "Sports Laws":

Case: A co-worker insists on detailing all 24 rounds of his fantasy league WNBA draft. Do I have to sit there and take it?
Sports Law: You have three legal options: (A) Have his tongue collated at Kinko's, (B) Mention that long stories exacerbate your flatulence problem, (C) Counter by reciting your 10K split times.

Philadelphia Distance Run
June 9, 2006

Reminder: June 15 is the deadline for registering to run this year's Philadelphia Distance Run scheduled for Sunday, September 17 as a member of one of the five-person CPTC teams. If you would like to run the Philly Distance Run with CPTC, please contact Jim McQuade at jmcquade@orrick.com before June 15. Once we have a final list of CPTC entrants, Jim will register the teams. If you plan to run as part of a CPTC team, please do not register for the race independently.

Please talk to your coach, either Tony or Devon, before committing yourself to this race. When considering doing this race please bear in mind that there is a half-marathon NYRR team scoring race two weeks later — Grete's Gallop on October 1 — and it is generally not a good idea to run two half-marathon races so close together.

Final World Cup Preview
June 9, 2006

The tournament is only hours away. So now that you've made your picks in the CPTC World Cup Pick 'Em Challenge, picked the best sports bar to watch all the games in, and come up with a list of fake diseases to get you out of work, there's just one thing left to do: figure out who to root for. Obviously you'll all be pulling for the U.S., but they only play three teams in the first round. That leaves 28 other teams playing 44 games in which you'll need to pick a side. That's why we're providing this handy guide of who to root for in each group. (The first round of the World Cup is divided into eight groups of four teams, designated Group A through Group H. This is to remind the rest of the world that, while soccer may be a global sport, all the power still resides with countries that use the Roman alphabet. Take that Greece!)

Group A - Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Poland
Preferred Team: Germany
Why: It's "root, root, root for the home team," remember?

Alternate Team: Ecuador
Why: We rolled a die on this, and Ecuador's number came up.

Group B - England, Paraguay, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago
Preferred Team: Trinidad & Tobago
Why: Their population is 1,065,842 — roughly one-third fewer people than Manhattan. How can you not cheer for them?

Alternate Team: England
Why: To make Alan Ruben happy.

Group C - Argentina, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Serbia & Montenegro
Preferred Team: The Netherlands
Why: They wear orange.

Alternate Team: Ivory Coast
Why: They also wear orange. And they're called the Elephants. They might have beat out the Dutch if it weren't for our backlash against those ESPN ads with Bono.

Group D - Angola, Iran, Mexico, Portugal
Preferred Team: Portugal
Why: Mexico is the U.S.'s biggest rival in soccer. Iran is run by a lunatic. Angola is a mess. Portugal wins by default.

Alternate Team: Mexico
Why: Every once in a while, politics has to trump sports.

Group E - Czech Republic, Ghana, Italy, United States
Preferred Team: United States
Why:The Real Home Team.

Alternate Team: None
Why: Italy has great food. The Czechs have great beer. Ghana gave us Freddy Adu. They're all nice countries and they all have good teams. Root for whoever's win will help the U.S. advance.

Group F - Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan
Preferred Team: Australia
Why: In honor of Roland Soong, the original webmaster. Also, they're called the Socceroos.

Alternate Team: Brazil
Why: It's nice to root for a perennial winner that isn't evil (cf. New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers). Plus, have you seen their fans?

Group G - France, South Korea, Switzerland, Togo
Preferred Team: South Korea
Why: Their uniforms are almost orange. Also, they can't bribe the refs this time around.

Alternate Team: France
Why: Remember what Orson Wells said about Switzerland: "Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love — they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." As for Togo, it's also a mess. France wins by default.

Group H - Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine
Preferred Team: Ukraine
Why: Remember the Orange Revolution last year?

Alternate Team: Spain
Why: Their flag is red and yellow, which combine to make orange.

Après Mai le Deluge
June 7, 2006

Normally we leave insipid commentary on the weather to sites like Gothamist, but we had this headline, so we figured we'd inflict in on you. As it turns out, we're not the first one to come up with this — the Economist used it last year in an article on the European Constitution, which is a little more substantive than complaining about the rain.

World Cup Preview
June 7, 2006

Guess we don't have to watch all those games after all. The folks at Electronic Arts played out the whole tournament on their FIFA World Cup video game, and we already have a winner. And, of course, it's Brazil. No, wait! It's not! In a stunning upset, the favorites lost the final match to the lowly Czechs, who are ranked a mere second in the world. Actual surprises include Costa Rica and the U.S. winning their groups, Brazil finishing behind Australia in their group, Iran beating Portugal, and far too many people thinking that this qualifies as news.

In other World Cup news, Toby has this quote from an unnamed newspaper: "The rest of the world (and Queens) gets ready for the World Cup which begins on Friday." And The Brushback predicts "Millions Of Americans Skipping Work To Pretend To Watch World Cup."

We Understand the Assistants, But What Exactly Do the Whippets Contribute?
June 7, 2006

Jack Shafer, writing in Slate about David Von Drehle's Sept. 23, 1989, article on Hurricane Hugo:

The story ain't perfect, mind you. For my tastes he approaches the purple from the magenta side a couple of times and exceeds his simile quota by a factor of two. But could I write a better hurricane story on deadline? Hell, I couldn't write a better piece if given a month, five naked research assistants, and a crate of whippets.

Off Track
June 6, 2006

Seems there's some turmoil at the Armory. Armory boss Norb Sanders fired track & field director Ed Small and Ed's assistant Sharon Warren. Then Norb told everyone that Ed and Sharon had retired. So Ed called up the folks at MastersTrack.com and detailed his complaints about Sanders' leadership, including a claim that "a lot of creative accounting goes into [the Armory's] expense column" on its tax return. The form is included in the post, and if anyone who understands accounting can explain it to us — and figure out why dues are so high — we'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks to Frank Morton for the link.

Welcome New(ish) Members
June 6, 2006

Welcome to our newest members, some of whom have been on the team for months now. No recruitment points yet, but we know that we don't get credit for any of them.

Winston Archer
John (Jay) Barry
Russell Bassett
Elizabeth Colville
Aileen Conlon
Tara Conroy
Kate Cushing
Stephen Kong
Joseph Lowe
Marie-Louise Michelson
Justin Palermo
Nick Penze
Lulu Sandes
Celeste Sedo
Matt Solomon
Melvin Stafford
Bernd Johannes Wuebben
Peter Warren
James Underwood
Caryn Waterson
Lindsey Yourman

And, since we can't find any evidence that we actually posted the last set of new members, here they are as well, with recruitment points attached.

Kristel Adler
Sarah Alari
Michael Basen
William Berriel
Bill Brobston (former member re-recruited by The Blackstones)
Barbara Bunch (recruited by re-recruit))
Erin Conroy
James Hanrahan
Emily Kindlon
Thom Little
Michael Lyons
Chi Munoz
Lauren Noble
Kimihiko Oishi
Tracy Olson
Robert "Spencer" Van Pelt

RECRUITMENT POINTS
David Blackstone
Lynn Blackstone
Bill Brobston
Stuart Calderwood
Jonathan Calvey "JR"
Jonathan Cane (Where are you??)
Terence Gerchberg
Andrea Haver
Otto Hoering
Sid Howard - 2 points
Kate Irvin
Marty Levine (all the way from the West Coast - thanks!)
Devon Martin (sorry coach Honorable mention only)
Brian Maiolo
Russ Pfeffer
Sarah Rivlin - 2 points
Tony Ruiz - 3 points (sorry Coach Honorable mention only)

World Cup Pool
June 6, 2006

Only six of you have signed up for our World Cup pool so far.We know there are more soccer fans than that on the team, so what's everyone else waiting for? It's really easy to do. Just click here, create an entry, and start predicting the games. And you don't even have to pick all the games now, you can wait until five minutes before each game starts if you prefer. (You can also change your picks up until the last minute.)


Remember, you're not just competing for bragging rights here, but also for some sort of trophy we've yet to devise. Also, if you pick really well, you can win a flat screen TV form ESPN.

There's also our prize for best team name, which so far has no entires, as everyone is just using their last name. Well, other than us — we've named our entry Keep the Joga Alive, which doesn't deserve to win — but we're not eligible for that prize.

So sign up now, and prove you know more about soccer than your teammates.

Barefoot in the Park
June 6, 2006

So, we figure some reporter at the Wall Street Journal saw Belal Aly at the Healthy Kidney 10K, and decided to write an article about barefoot running. To the reporter's credit, this isn't a typical "trend story," filled with meaingless phrases like an increasing number, many more or a growing group. To the Journal's discredit, they want you to pay to read this. Which is why Brian Schaffer had to email us the entire article.

Is Barefoot Better?
Some Athletes Say Running Shoeless Benefits Body and Sole
June 6, 2006; Page D1

Runners and athletes are always searching for the perfect shoe to improve performance and reduce injury. But some say shoes are the problem, and the best solution may be training without them.

Some experts now believe that most athletic shoes, with their inflexible soles, structured sides and super-cushioned inserts keep feet so restricted that they may actually be making your feet lazy, weak and more prone to injury. As a result, barefoot training is gaining more attention among coaches, personal trainers and runners.

While exercising without shoes may sound painful, the idea is that your feet need a workout, too. Proponents believe running barefoot changes a runner's form and body mechanics to prevent some common athletic injuries.

Although a few coaches and marathon runners have preached the value of barefoot training, the method has received more attention lately because shoe giant Nike is promoting its Nike Free shoe, which it claims mimics the sensation of running barefoot. Popular training methods aimed at improving running form, including the Pose Method (www.posetech.com) and ChiRunning (www.chirunning.com), also are prompting runners to consider minimalist foot gear or none at all as a way to allow their natural body mechanics to take over.

It isn't just runners who are going barefoot. One new fitness trend, a dance-inspired workout called Balletone (www.balletone.com), places heavy emphasis on foot strengthening and flexibility, something that is essential to dancers. Boulder, Colo., fitness educator Shannon Griffiths-Fable says her chiropractor encouraged her to try barefoot training, and she has also seen a difference in clients who take part in Balletone classes. "I've noticed just how fatigued people's feet get," she says. "They haven't used their feet and they don't know how to support themselves while exercising."

But barefoot training remains controversial. Many podiatrists cringe at the notion of unshod feet pounding the pavement, where the risks include cuts, bruises and unsanitary conditions. "If we want to mimic barefoot running, shoes should come with broken glass and twigs," says Stephen M. Pribut, a Washington, D.C., podiatrist and president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. "The emphasis should be on getting the right shoe for your foot."

While doctors also worry barefoot running can lead to injuries, proponents say barefoot training helps correct form and reduces foot, shin and muscle injuries.

Someone considering barefoot training should be careful. Doctors strongly discourage it for patients with diabetes, because a foot wound can lead to serious complications. Athletes with foot pain or injuries should consult with a sports-medicine expert, trainer or physical therapist before shedding their shoes. Even proponents of barefoot training say you should start slowly. Runners can start on grass, a clean sidewalk or a rubberized track. Be careful not to overdo it and give feet and muscles time to adapt. If you aren't willing to give up shoes while running on streets and trails, you might consider switching to a more flexible shoe or one with less padding if you like the way barefoot training feels. Yoga, pilates or group fitness classes that allow you to exercise while barefoot are also options.

Advocates of barefoot training swear by it, claiming that ditching their shoes has improved the running experience and solved injury problems. Four months ago, 29-year-old Salt Lake City runner Brett Williams was on the verge of buying the Nike Airmax 360, a $160 shoe. In researching the shoe, he stumbled across www.runningbarefoot.org, which has become the Web-based bible for barefoot runners. "I decided I'd had enough and went barefoot," says Mr. Williams, who on Saturday ran the Salt Lake City marathon, his first marathon, while barefoot. Mr. Williams says he enjoys running more now, and suffered only a minor scrape during the race that was less painful than the blisters that often develop on the feet of shod runners. "Your connection with the ground beneath your feet is absolutely lost with shoes on," says Mr. Williams. "I am utterly convinced your feet don't need support or cushioning. If they do it's because you're not running correctly."

There isn't a lot of scientific study on barefoot training. Research has shown that wearing shoes to exercise takes more energy, and that barefoot runners use about 4% less oxygen than shod runners. Other studies suggest barefoot athletes naturally compensate for the lack of cushioning and land more softly than runners in shoes, putting less shock and strain on the rest of the body. Barefoot runners also tend to land in the middle of their foot, which can improve running form and reduce injury.

One series of studies from Canadian researchers concluded that heavily cushioned shoes were more likely to cause injury than simpler shoes. They also concluded that more expensive athletic shoes accounted for twice as many injuries as cheaper shoes. The data aren't conclusive. It may be that buyers of expensive shoes are more injury prone or more active, and therefore more likely to sustain injuries. A summary of the data on barefoot training can be found at www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm.

Dr. Pribut says he would like patients to seek out more appropriate athletic shoes, and gives advice on how to do this at www.drpribut.com/sports/spshoe.html. He notes that some athletes who go barefoot or give up structured shoes risk injuring themselves further.

Although barefoot runners say their feet become conditioned to running on pavement, some are choosing minimalist footwear to protect the feet without impeding the barefoot experience. A quirky foot-glove called the Vibram FiveFingers (www.vibramfivefingers.com) developed to keep sailors from slipping on their boats is one option. A toe-less nylon band used by dancers (www.dancepaws.com) also helps protect feet of barefoot trainers without the structure of a shoe.

Week of May 30, 2006 - June 5, 2006

Photos
June 5, 2006

Patrick Cowden has posted photos from Saturday's Anniversary Run on his website.

Even More — And Now Correct — Info On Icahn Meets
June 4, 2006

Turns out the NYRR track meets won't be starting next week after all:

The Summer Track Series at Icahn will begin on June 13. A second event will take place on June 20. We are in the process of confirming a third date, if possible. We had hoped to be able to start the series next week, but will not be able to start the series that quickly. Next week we will send an email to the club teams and update our website with the event information.

Michelle Wells
Director, Event Development & Production
New York Road Runners

New Arrival
June 4, 2006

From David Maurice:

Fellow CPTC member Chele Modica and wife Jeanette, just had the birth of their second boy, Sebastian. Born 5/31, he's the second in a soon-to-be rash of CPTC babies named after English 800m god and Olympic 1500m champ Seb Coe (my own Sebastian was born 2/27 to mom Kristin). Just wait, in 18 or 20 years, the CPTC all time lists will be dominated by Kate on the ladies' side, and Seb on the men's. Or we can wish...

Cars (Partly) Out of the Parks
June 4, 2006

From Transporation Alternatives:

Thanks to your support and advocacy, this Monday, June 5th, the Mayor's fractional closure plan goes in to effect. Central Park's East Drive north of 72nd Street will be closed to cars in the morning and the West Drive will be closed in the evening. Prospect Park's West Drive will be closed to cars in the morning. While this new plan is welcome and will yield many health and quality of life benefits, it stops short of giving New Yorkers what they want: car-free summers on the loop drives of both parks.

At press time, it looks like the City Council will vote on the Summer Car-Free Parks bill (Introduction 276) on June 13. Now is the time to let Speaker Quinn and your City Councilmember know that you support this critical legislation and they should too. Call, write, email, phone or fax.

Whether this is your first action for Car-Free parks or your ten-thousandth, we need you now, more than ever.

Int. 276 would make Central Park car-free all summer long and Prospect Park car-free every summer evening. It's a common sense step to reducing injuries, improving health and restoring these crown jewel parks to their original splendor.

TA even has a form set up to contact City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in support of this bill.

More Info On Icahn Meets
June 2, 2006

Thanks to the detective skills of Frank Morton, we now have the full info on the upcoming NYRR track meets at Icahn. (Or, as he calls them, the "invisible track meets," since NYRR doesn't actually link to the event page.) Here are the full details:

Icahn Stadium | Randall's Island | Manhattan | Tuesday nights

Dates and Events

June 6 : 1500m, 800m, 5000m

June 13 : 1500m, 400m, 3000m

June 20: 1500m, 800m, 5000m

Time
6:30-7:00 Warmups
7:00-8:30 Racing
8:30-9:00 Cooldown

Entry Fee
A fee of $10 general admission or $8 for NYRR members (with membership card) allows runners entry to unlimited events per meet. Exact change is appreciated.

Transportation
Randall’s Island is accessible by car, foot, or public transportation. For complete directions, click here. Note that the footbridge from East 103rd Street closes at dusk.

Races at Icahn
June 2, 2006

There's no annoucment on the NYRR site yet, but we hear from Coach Devon that the summer track races at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island will be on the next three Tuesdays: June 6, June 13 and June 20. The races start at 7:00 each night, with registration starting at 6:30.

Race Winners
June 2, 2006

Congrats to Stacy Creamer on winning the Philadelphia Bar Association 5K last month. Congrats, as well, to JR Calvey, on winning the Fred Weisberg Law Day 5K back in April, which we notice we forgot to mention.

True, This Is Irrelevant, But It's Not Like We're Winning Anything Running Related These Days
June 2, 2006

It's not much to brag about, but we'd like to point out that our entry was chosen as a finalist in Daniel Radosh's Scouting Magazine Cartoon Anti-Caption Contest. This is a spin-off of Radosh's popular New Yorker Cartoon Anti-Caption Contest, which is itself a take-off of the actual New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, which has yet to produce a funny result.

This Is Why We've Always Preferred Hanging Out In Bars Instead
June 2, 2006

From yesterday's Times:

Don't Hit on Me, Mr. Goodbody

For many people who joined gyms in [the 1980s], getting healthy was an afterthought. But now, trainers, gymgoers and fitness industry experts say, expectations have reversed. Health is often the key motivator, and, with a few exceptions, the idea of the gym as a pick-up spot is about as passé as neon pink leg warmers.

...

That gyms have evolved into a more professional, largely flirt-free zone has as much to do with demographics, time management and the advent of the iPod as it does with spandex and sexual politics.

In the early days, the confident and the taut frequented gyms, not the saggy masses. "It was 6 or 8 percent of the population who went, people who were comfortable with their bodies, not grossly out of shape," said Rick Caro, who co-owned a handful of gyms in the Northeast in the 70's and 80's.

...

By and large, gym members today aren't the sleek 20-somethings of a generation ago. People aged 35 to 54 account for a third of all health club members, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, a trade group. The over-55 crowd makes up another quarter and is the fastest growing segment of gymgoers.

"You take the 50-, 55-, 60-year-old person, they're not going to be checking out the scene the same way they did in the 1970's," Ms. Coffman, who is 64, said.

Today's exercisers are also more likely to be hitting the treadmill on the advice of a doctor, or to get rid of a lower-belly bulge, rather than to perfect their preternaturally tight abs.

From yesterday's Slate:

Killer Workout: Are gyms, not mosques, the main breeding ground for Islamic terrorists?

The three [terrorist] cells appear to have had at least one thing in common, though — their members' immersion in gym culture. Often, they met and bonded over a workout. If you'll forgive the pun, they were fitness fanatics. Is there something about today's preening and narcissistic gym culture that either nurtures terrorists or massages their self-delusions and desires? Mosques, even radical ones, emphasize Muslims' relationships with others — whether it be God, the ummah (Islamic world), or the local community. The gym, on the other hand, allows individuals to focus myopically on themselves. Perhaps it was there, among the weightlifting and rowing machines, that these Western-based terror cells really set their course.

...

[Mohammed Sidique] Khan seemed to view gym and sports activities as more than an opportunity for physical bonding; he also appeared to consider them moral and pure, an alternative to the decadent temptations of contemporary society. Healthy living, as a doctrine, appears to have been close to his radical heart. In Khan's talks to young Muslims and potential recruits, he reportedly made numerous references to keeping fit. His talks "focused on clean living, staying away from crime and drugs, and the value of sport and outdoor activity," says the British government's 7/7 report. Perhaps it was the gym setting that nurtured the 7/7 cell's combination of arrogance and fury, its seeming belief that they were good and the rest of us were rotten.

...

Today's gym culture seems like the perfect vehicle for nurturing the combination of narcissism and loathing of the masses necessary to carry out a terrorist suicide mission. If some of these attackers viewed their own bodies as pure instruments, and everyone else as wasteful and deserving of punishment, they could just as well have come to that conclusion through absorbing the healthy-living agenda of the gym as by reading the Quran. At the gym, [Mohamed] Atta, Khan, and the others could focus on perfecting the self, the body, as a pure and righteous thing—and hone their disdain for others.

Best Times
June 1, 2006

Big doings at the Boston High Performance last weekend. Allison McCabe moved from six to three on the Best 1500m list. Katy Masselam moved back onto the same list, at number nine. And Natalie Gingerich improved her time in the 800m, but stayed at third on that list. John Roberts didn't get onto the 5000m list, but at the rate he's going with these PRs, he'll be there soon.

Yeah, We're Back to This
June 1, 2006

We let her slide for a while, but it's time to pick on Alessandra Stanley again. How can we not, when our least-favorite TV critic makes three mistakes in one article? Does she have to work harder to screw up this much? Was she just too tired from her road trip with Frank Bruni to focus on the details? And why the hell was an article about American Idol in the national news section, as opposed to the arts section, where it belongs? We'd seek out answers to these questions, but we have better things to do.

Are You Ready for Some Football?
June 1, 2006

The non-American kind, naturally. We're just one week away from the start of the 2006 World Cup (technically the World Cup finals, for those of you don't follow the beautiful game; the qualifying matches that all the countries played over the last two years are also part of the World Cup) and even the American media is starting to pay attention. Today brings two previews of what won't happen over the next month, one from Page 2 and the other from The Onion. Sports Illustrated offers a more serious preview, and predicts that Brazil will win it all. Way to go out on a limb there, especially with the oddsmakers giving 9/4 on the Seleção. (The US is listed as 80/1, which is either a reminder that the Europeans still don't take American soccer seriously, or simply reflects the fact that our boys are stuck in the Group of Death.)

So, think you know more about the World Cup that all the experts? Here's your chance to prove it with the First CPTC World Cup Challenge. We're using ESPN again, and you can enter by clicking here. Have trouble with that? Go to the game's homepage, and search for group CPTC. The password, as always, is CPTC. Once again there will be a trophy for the winner. Also, we'd like to give an award for best entry name, but that will only work if some of you actually name your entries this time, unlike in the March Madness pool. Also unlike the March Madness pool, there's no bracket to fill out here. Instead, you pick the result of each game, and you can change your picks right up until the game starts. Good luck, and, as our friends at Nike say, play beautiful.

Congressional Bike Caucus
June 1, 2006

We were a little shocked to learn there's such a thing as a Bi-Partisan Congressional Bike Caucus, since Congress never seems to pass any legislation that could be considered bicycle-friendly. Still, it does exist, and claims 164 representatives — over one-third of the House — as members. The Senate caucus has only 11 members, The Cycling Dude wonders how many of these folks have ever been on a bike, and how many of those can change a tire. We're guessing it's not that many.