McRunner

One of my favorite parts of marathon training, and running in general, is that it gets me to concentrate more on what I eat.  If I want my body to be up for a 20 mile training run, I'd better be fueling it adequately.  Fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, milk, lean meats, etc.  All the stuff we know we should be eating anyway but most of us don't.  Sure, I still eat my share of junk, but usually I keep it in check.

And then there's this guy:

According to an article in today's Chicago Sun-Times, marathoner Joe D'Amico, the self-proclaimed McRunner, is prepping for the LA Marathon on March 20th by eating nothing but McDonald's for 30 straight days.  He's blogging about the endeavor at www.mcrunner.com.

The best part?  He's actually good.  He started out in 1998 running a 4:16 marathon in Chicago, and last fall, 13 marathons later, brought his time down to a PR of 2:36 in the Twin Cities.  So he has a little clout when he talks about what his body can and can't handle.  If he says his body is up for it, I believe him.

I like this guy.  Aside from his devotion to the golden arches, and the fact that he could smoke me in head to head competition, we're a lot alike.  He also keeps things simple in training by focusing on the running and not much else.  He subscribes to the "miles make champions" school of thought and packs on the miles.  He doesn't crosstrain.  He barely stretches.  He doesn't drink protein shakes.

In his own words, "simplicity, consistency and convenience is what I'm about; that is what makes me a drive-thru runner."  He aims to PR in LA, and I can't wait to see how he does.