FITNESS
JUDY MARX .
Special to The Jewish News
52
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1990
Marsha Sun dq u ist
W
hen the tempera-
tures drop, don't
look for Detroit's
Jewish joggers to
run for cover.
The dynamite combination of
polypropylene and a positive
attitude keeps these hearty
women and men pounding
the pavement long after
Thanksgiving.
Marcia Freedman is a
typical example. Her system
is simple: six days a week, six
miles a day. That's about six
hours of running, and she
doesn't let her full-time job as
an art teacher at Western
High School in Detroit slow
her down.
"During the week, I run
around Clark Park on my
lunch hour," she says. "I've
done it for years. The school
has an indoor track, but I use
it only when the weather is
really nasty. Cold and snow
are no problem, but I do
watch out for ice."
Simultaneously enrolled in
a full-time master of fine arts
program at Wayne State
University, Freedman also
makes time to run on
weekend mornings in her
Bloomfield Hills
neighborhood.
"My jogging friends are
wonderful. I love the people
I've met running." A partici-
pant in the 1981 Free Press
Marathon, Freedman says
that she has continued to run
in order to control her weight
and stay in shape. Quite
frankly — as she puts it —
"I'm afraid to stop."
Outfitted in "lots of layers,"
beginning with polypropylene
underwear, Freedman says
that her feet, her hands, and
her head are most vulnerable
to the cold. "I wear a nylon
suit, umpteen socks and mit-
tens, a polypro hat and a face
mask."
This is the season that
Susan Alterman plans to
trade in her nylon attire for
Gore-Tex.
Lisa Chalmers of the Total
Runner in Southfield agrees
that a Gore-Tex suit is the
best one can buy. It is water-
proof, wind-proof and also
breatheable. Chalmers touts
polypropylene thermalware
for its non-absorption feature.
"Polypro actually acts as a
wick to draw moisture away
from the skin."
Alterman has been running
for more than 10 years, as has
Freedman, although Alter-
man's not as enthusiastic a
cold-weather jogger as her
running-mates Donna Mad-
Teacher Freedman heads for Clark Park.
They Don't Come In
From The Cold
din, Margo Weiner and
Mariette Goldberg.
Alterman worries about ice
and hazardous footing. "Real
runners don't quit because of
the cold," she notes.
Alterman runs nearly
seven miles a day, seven days
a week. "I take a day off every
third week or so," she says.
Supplementing her runn-
ing with indoor activity,
Alterman works out at the
Maple-Drake Jewish Com-
munity Center on Nautilus
equipment, Stairmaster and
stationary bikes and also does
sit-ups. It all adds up to about
21/2 hours per day — and she
also maintains a hefty
volunteer schedule as section
You can spy them
almost anywhere,
these Jewish
joggers who take
Detroit's winters in
stride.
treasurer at the National
Council of Jewish Women
office.
Allan Gelfond says that he
was once the "classic non-
athlete." Overweight and
Jewish, there were few sports
oportunities open to him in
his hometown of Vancouver,
British Columbia.
When he took up running
in his mid-30s, he found it
"easy and natural," and his
accomplishments as a runner
caused him to change his self-
image. "I'd written myself off
as an athlete," he says. "I've
learned that you should never
lose faith in yourself or
anybody esle, and I have
adopted that philosophy in
my work as well."
Gelfond is a fomrer
marathon runner. But, as
campaign director for the
Detroit Jewish Welfare
Federation, he no longer has
the time to be out each mor-
ning at 5:45 a.m. and run 15
miles before breakfast. These
days, he runs approximately
five hours per week, year-
round — outside.
"I don't run on ice and
never when there's lightn-
ing,"he notes. "But running
in a light rain is OK — and
jogging in the snow is so
romantic!"
Temperatures of 15-20
degrees below zero don't
threaten Gelfond. When the
mecury dips under 30, he
trades in his running shorts
for a Gore-Tex suit and other
cold weather attire. But after
a couple of close calls, he ad-
vises his fellow joggers to take
some special precautions in
sub-freezing temperatures:
"Just slow down and accom-
modate yourself to the
weather. Be especially careful
of cars when the streets are
slippery, and wear a reflective
vest when it's dark."
Despite the fact many
Detroit runners don't choose
to come in from the cold,
sophisticated treadmills and
Stairmasters and the JCC's
newly opened Rosenberg
Recreation Complex, with its
large, state-of-the-art indoor
track, still have an appeal for
many dedicated athletes.
Stuart Lockman is a runner
whose 40th birthday present
to hiMself was preparation
for, and participation in, his
first marathon. "Marathon
running is 20 percent in your
legs and 80 percent in your
head," he says." Anyone in
good health can train to run
a marathon.
"You have to make exercise
a priority in your life. There
are 168 hours in a week. If
you can't find time to exercise,
it's because you don't want
to."
A Detroit attorney who
specializes in health-care law,
Lockman admits that he
doesn't enjoy running outside
when the temperature is
below 50 degrees. This winter
he plans to exercise at one of
the local health clubs.
His ideal weekly program
calls for three days of working
out with weights and exercise
machines and three days of
treadmill-running — two
45-minute runs and one of
about 11/2 hours.
"Running on a treadmill
reminds me of going to work,"
he says. Then he smiles: "You
run real hard, you sweat a lot,
and you stay in the same
place." 111
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