Jan 5, 2011

not quite fit to print

This was in the paper:
I found 2 errors in this.  Can you find them?

So I wrote this to the editor about smokin' PR's
Thanks for "running" a running-related item on the front of the January 2nd Your Life section of the paper.  This Norwegian isn't the first to publish predictions for a marathon time based on 5k times, and such predictions have limitations (well outlined in the book "The Lore of Running.")  But they are fun to think about.  Hopefully they will motivate people to set goals and improve their fitness level.  The charts and graphics are stylish but they have a horrible subliminal antithetical flaw.  The adult male scientist with the clip-board and white coat has vapor rising not from the perspiration of good work-out, but smoke from the TOBACCO PIPE in his mouth!  As a physician, I see daily the negative effects of smoking, and I ask the good editors to be vigilant for smoking messages sneaking into the media.  This same graphic appeared in the Mail Tribune last fall.  It has no place in a health related piece, except perhaps for satire.  Best wishes for good health and running smoke free in 2011.  Parenthetically, there is a math or typographic error for runner 1-- their half marathon time should be about 1:14:59. 
Neil M Olsen, MD