Perhaps a marathon clinic in Christchurch

Press, 20 February 1980, Page 18

Perhaps a marathon clinic in Christchurch

RUNNERS’; .DIARY

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John Drew

A Christchurch lawyer who was recently among 7000 or so who ran in the world’s second largest marathon — .the famous Honolulu 26.2-mile event — made a valuable comment recently. This lawyer, who acquired a new-found enthusiasm for distance running when approaching 40 or so, asks why Christchurch does not have a marathon clinic' like that established iff. Honolulu and more recently in Hamilton.

Both organisations prepare, under medical supervision, men and women running newcomers of all ages, as well as hearttrouble victims being rehabilitated by gradual long-distance training, to participate in the full marathon event. This Honolulu clinic which has become famous in the last five years or so for rehabilitating thousands of victims of sedentary living by mara-thon-type training.' is controlled by the Honolulu Marathon Association which, together with the city and county of Honolulu, holds the huge annual Honolulu marathon. The association is a powerful, non-profit corporation. Its board of directors, which includes cardiologists who are marathon runners, help to direct the clinic. Some 80 heart-trouble victims were trained at the. clinic to run in the last marathon at Honolulu.

The clinic’s cardiologists, who have to be marathon" runners, medically

screen candidates for marathon training who are heart attack victims or risks. Those failing exercise electro-cardiogram tests first do preliminary, gentle, graded indoor training in the big Honolulu central Y.M.C.A. There are three classes a day three days a week. I took part in one of these classes, which had about 50 trainees. There was a

cardiologist on duty all the time as well as two trained nurses, also distance runners, with diplomas in cardio-pulmonary resusciation.

The trainees are encouraged constantly to check their pulse, rate during training with the sweep second-hand of a huge clock in the gym. Trainees Avere checked each month until considered medically safe to begin running training with hundreds attending the outdoor marathon clinic held every Sunday morning in Waikiki’s Queen Kapiolani Park. The clinic conducts a nine-month training period leading up to the marathon in each December. Dr Dennis Friedlander, cardiologist at the Hamilton Hospital, has established the Hamilton Fletcher funded Marathon Clinic along the same lines as the Honolulu one. He told me that one of ■ the first requirements in establishing such a clinic in a new district is to have a medical director who is both a cardiologist and a marathon runner so that runners can best be kept under expert medical supervision during their preparation for a marathon.

He has shown me a comprehensive plan he prepared to assist organisations in other centres who are contemplating the establishment of a marathon clinic similar to that in Hamilton. If Christchurch and other centres in New Zealand acquire a marathon clinic they will have to thank the drive and enthusiasm of a young New Jersey cardiologist for the research he did on the medical history of Olympic athletes. He is Dr Jack Scaff, son of a famous American scientist, Dr Jack Hall Scaff, who invented and developed the transistor. Young Dr Scaff uncovered an invaluable Czechoslovakian research programme during studies in cardiology and exercise physiology in his medical training days at Palm Beach.

The programme traced ‘.he lives of former Olympic medallists, showing that track and field athletes died at about the same age as non-athletes. But Olympic medallists in 10km and over had a far higher life expectancy and no medallists in the marathon event had died of heart 1 trouble. Dr Scaff began as a cardiologist in Honolulu in 1969 “because there were streets of cardiologists in Los Angles and they just didn’t seem to be making much of a dent in the heart-attack problem.” - This dynamic speaker is adamant that recreational I o n g-distance running gives men and women the best protection against heart attacks. Heart attack victims from throughout the United States now attend his Honolulu marathon clinic which he founded along with the Honolulu marathon.

Dr Friedlander has both run the Honolulu marathon and made a study of the Honolulu clinic before setting up the Fletcher Clinic in Hamilton. His clinic is now cially registered as a club affiliated to the N.Z.A.A.A.; and more than

expected to run in New Zealand’s ■ biggest marathon, the Rotorua -marathon, 100 from his clinic are funded by the Fletcher organisation, round Lake Rotorua on April 26. Today at 10 a.m. and each Wednesday at that time, the Y.W.C.A.. hold their beginners; classes fbr women runners of all ages and levels of ability. - On Saturday evening the Canterbury;Road Runners’ Association hold their popular annual “Lincoln Lope” of 10 km smarting at 6 p.m. at the Lincoln township. Next Sunday morning Cr Mollie Clark and Cr Noala Massey will be among a big field expected in New Zealand’s only, annual all women’s fun-run. This Y.W.C.A. event will start at the Armagh Street entrance to Hagley Park at 10 a.m. under the direction of its founder, a marathon runner from Colorado, Debbie Rhode, whose husband, an Ameri-. can doctor, is a pathologist here. The Canterbury representative, Anne-Marie Keown, will give a short talk of welcome. There is no entry charge. Adidas are giving T-shirts and Sport International are giving E.B. road shoes as lucky dip prizes in which all can participate and there will be special prizes l for the youngest and oldest participants. A creche will be available for young children; Debbie wants as many newcomers to take part as possible. There is a twomile course for beginners (which they can run or walk and run as they like), and a five-mile course for more advanced women runners.

Also, on Sunday the Lng Distance Runners’ Club will hold the first of its beach runs from Spencer Park. It will start at 8 a.m.

And all day Sunday the Canterbury veteran men’s and women’s track and field championships will be held at Queen Elizabeth II Park Stadium.