The 2015 Southern Cross Marathon - Chile

Date: February 13, 2015
My Time: 3:58:41

When I did in October 2010, at 55, my first marathon I still believed in many fallacies that turned the marathon into something runners can wrongly brag about as a special achievement. At least I never “swallowed” the stupid theory of “speed genes,” fabricated by a so-called Danish “scientific study.” Of course, no “study” could identify such genes, but many people still believe in them.

Fortunately, I progressively found out, as I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, that all big bipedal apes—regardless of their melanin density—have exceptional genes for long-distance running, i.e. the most primitive and vital human activity, formerly to get food, and now to prevent obesity and other comorbidities, get enough endorphins and boost our immune systems. As a result, finishing a race possibly pain and injury-free is far more important to me than my ranking. I won nonetheless also two other marathons and one ultramarathon:

The 2015 Torcy International Marathon, France
The 2015 Punta Arenas Ultramarathon, Chile
The 2016 Philipsburg Waterfront Marathon, Sint Maarten

And I placed second overall among the finishers of the 2014 Punta Arenas Marathon in Chile and the 2015 White Continent Ultramarathon in Antarctica.