I am halfway through Richard Askwith's "The Race Against Time" - a good read so far. The message from the sports medicine chaps - in great brief - is: don't stop; do weights, balance exercises, and speed sessions; and look forward, not to the past. One interesting idea is that those who continue to exercise a lot into old age may be in the minority, but in terms of overall health, those who do very little are the ones who are out of step.
I am really enjoying "Adventures in Running and Ageing" - worth every euro. It is a very different book from that by Richard Askwith - the emphasis is on the ageing process rather than ageing people.
So can you tell which is written by a journalist and which by an ex-teacher?Originally Posted by Mike T
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
One is smoother to read, a bit dull at times, and I found myself thinking "get to the point". The other has the occasional awkward sentence, but lots of interesting anecdotes and turns of phrase, and I often wanted more detail.
There is the occasional scientific error in both - VO2max is not affected by lung function in normal people, and myoglobinuria is very different from haematuria.
Thank you.
I have the Philip Jones book but have yet to start it.
Ever since journalist Richard Askwith started FITC with "This is how death must feel." some authors have believed in the need for drama so eg ex-journalist Johnny Muir starts his "The Mountains Are Calling" with "Hearts bursting against ribs." and carries on in a similar "plunging through the heather" vein until he eventually settles down. I find it all a bit wearisome. I think Muir is now a teacher.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
My copy, ordered two weeks ago, still hasn't arrived. Maybe it's got held up in Customs on its way from Luxembourg. B***dy B**x*t.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
Mine arrived 4 days after ordering.
Better out than in
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
It is a fascinating book.
Everyone ponders the aging process - why am I slower than I used to be? - with runners having the evidence of past recorded times to ensure reality cannot readily be ignored. Philip, having pondered this question with the inquisitive mind of the school teacher and the literary skills of an English graduate, has produced an excellent book complete, after researching the subject in depth, with his findings and conclusions.
The title may suggest a dull and worthy book but readers will find that it isn’t. Philip writes with wit and humour and in a warmly welcoming way. The book is really funny, sometimes hilariously, in a droll way with some good jokes. And because he is a long term runner he thinks like we runners do and readers will recognise and empathise with his comments with that “Yes!” of recognition.
All runners get injured. If they don’t it is because they are talkers and not runners and part of Philip’s tale concerns his own problems with injury - which are, of course, often linked to ageing - including his three-year recovery from a dislocated shoulder/fractured socket.
Philip was a teacher, not a medical doctor and so while his book contains a lot of sound scientific information about how the body ages (there are many footnote sources to medical research and extensive Acknowledgements) his overriding goal has clearly been to produce a book that will be good to read - or why bother? So the medical information is presented simply and clearly and he has broken his text into 35 digestible chapters. But it isn’t a “Janet & John” with pictures so there are occasional references to Shakespeare’s plays and the Greek and Latin source of medical terms.
As I approached the end of my running days I often pondered how much better I would have been if only I had known certain things when I was younger - a regret not limited to running - so I wish Philip had written his book a few decades ago. It is perhaps ironic that the people who read “ageing” in the title might pick it up because they admit they might be, perhaps, ageing, just a little; but this is a book that one cannot start reading and learning from early enough - if you aspire to be a runner.
The book is a joy to read (although an index would have been useful) and gives the impression that Philip actually enjoyed writing it because it was as much a voyage of discovery to him as, I suggest, it will be to everyone who reads it.
Last edited by Graham Breeze; 02-03-2023 at 05:40 PM.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Agreed - a very enjoyable book.
Have you got your freebie from Prof. Hans Degens yet? Mine arrived today - yet to be read.
PS: page 287, footnote 111.
Last edited by Mike T; 02-03-2023 at 06:51 PM.
Not yet.
I really cannot express how impressed I am with Philip's book.
I occasionally connect the odd word together into a sentence or two but the subject is generally on a subject I already know a little about so I am awestruck with what Philip has produced.
And with such a light humorous touch.
Wow!
Last edited by Graham Breeze; 02-03-2023 at 07:35 PM.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
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