Question:
Is it possible to eat this - 20 hamburgers, 20 Chicken Snack Wraps, 75 hotcakes and 55 cookies – and run a sub-2:36 marathon in Los Angeles on Sunday?
To his credit, Joe D’Amico didn’t eat it all at once. However, he made a commitment on his blog, Confessions of a Drive Thru Runner, to eat only McDonald’s food for the 30 days prior to running the race.
Facts:
Age: 36
Weight: 140 pounds
Height: 6 feet
Marathon PR: 2:36 (2010 – Twin Cities)
Number of marathons run: 14
First marathon: Chicago – 1998 – 4:16
Cross training/strength training: None, ever
Miles run per week in training: 100
Miles run in the last 27 days: 330
Reason for eating crap for 30 days: Raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charity
Money raised to date: $16,000
Total visits to McDonald’s over last 27 days: 84
Number of fans on Facebook: 12,000
Exceptions to eating McDonald’s foods: non-McD’s water, gels, multivitamin, ibuprofen
Number of craps taken: Info not available
Most surprising quote: “I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Most shocking medical info received from his doctor (posted on his blog yesterday):
Yesterday I wrote about breaking the rules. This dude takes it to a new level. He is essentially the anti-marathon fueler, breaking every rule imaginable. For those of us who gasp when we hear that someone went to the drive thru pre- or post-long run, D’Amico makes us wheeze, wet ourselves and pass out.
What do you make of this? If you saw the movie Super Size Me (2004), you know that Morgan Spurlock took on a similar 30-day challenge of only eating McDonald’s food. Granted he was not training for a marathon, but he gained 25 pounds, had heart palpitations, lost his sex drive and was energy-depleted. Yes, Spurlock’s choices were heavier on the calories and the sugar than D’Amicos and he did not exercise.
If you look at D’Amicos food diary from the past 27 days, you see that he made the healthiest choices possible, for the most part, when visiting McDonalds. Maybe this makes a difference.
I am still scratching my head as to how he can eat this crap, feel so good, perform so well and actually have his blood work look better. Even with smart selections, isn’t it still inherently bad for you?
His choices are all relatively low fat, low calorie, yet high carb. So, when you hear he “ate McD’s for 30 days and ran a great marathon,” keep in mind he wasn’t gorging on fries and Big Macs. And, let’s hope that D’Amico’s message doesn’t prompt the already overweight and unhealthy majority of America to think they can eat their way healthy by frequenting the drive thru.
I personally think this guy is a freak of nature. Most people cannot tolerate 100 mile weeks, no cross training, let alone 84 trips to McD’s. Most people will also never go from running a 4:16 marathon to a 2:36 marathon in 13 years or a lifetime. There are always exceptions to the norm, and he is one of them. It makes for an interesting story, but I’m not going to follow his lead. Except for the 2:36 marathon part. I could SO do that.
Are we all too uptight about our food choices or is this guy sending the wrong message? Thoughts?
D’Amico did comment on this post. See comment #31.
SUAR
